RE: [TruthTalk] Social concerns and the church

[ShieldsFamily]

JD, it seems that the ones who do the most kvetching about others not helping the poor and being socially responsible are the ones who talk, talk, talk, but do little if anything.  I’ve been waiting for a day now for a sincere suggestion from kvetching Lance and kvetching JD on what I personally can do to cure the problems in the Congo, but when the rubber meets the road there is only more kvetching or silence.    Meanwhile, yesterday I cooked and sent a pot of soup and a big bowl of chicken salad to a neighbor who has guests in her home for the week.  While I was quilting I saw that the two big dogs belonging to one of my lesbian neighbors were loose, and I stopped everything and went outside and made sure her dogs got back safely into her yard and talked to her for a while.  Today someone from our church is arriving with a truck to pick up 3 pieces of furniture to deliver to a woman who needs furniture for her family.  Our church routinely completely re-habs and refurnishes homes for the poor who need it—often poor black women fresh out of prison for doing drugs or theft who are trying to start their lives over. They are given a beautiful home, yardwork, furniture, clothing, and whatever else they need.  Last Christmas my husband and I decided that instead of giving each other gifts we would provide Christmas for a needy family, and many others in our church did also. They are rarely ever members of our church, but just someone that someone heard about. I could bore you for hours with everything our benevolence ministry has done like that.  We help those that God puts in front of us.  We do what we can, and we trust Him to provide where we can’t.    We work quietly as unto the Lord for our own and for others.  And we don’t kvetch.   Izzy   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Sunday, June 05, 2005 12:40 AM To: TruthTalk@mail.innglory.org Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Social concerns and the church       Pure and undefiled religion is defined by James in terms of two different kinds of activities.   One has to do with our relationship to others.   A second concern is our relationship to ourselves   (Jam 1:27).     Only the most thoughtless would believe that our responsibility to others is fulfilled in a "Hi and how are you" to the fatherless  or that the fatherless are to be our only concern.  And we not much help, in some cases, if we are doing what we can to keep ourselves free of worldly influences.     Social concern, then, is a part of our divine imperative.     In James,  a book written to those who tended towards legalism and the "doing of church,"  he pointedly reminds his readers that their efforts are good for nothing if their speech is not followed by action.  Be thou warmed and fill is a part of the message of the church.   But if it is not accompanied with that which is necessary for the health and well-being of the body,  their message is of no use  (James 2:16,17)   The story of the good Samaritan is a story that is all about social responsibilities.   It's message is as much for us today as it was 2000 years ago.   It is a lie of the Father of Lies to believe and teach that the preaching of repentance is the only evangelical concern of the church.  Evangelical, I say, as if social considerations were part of the evangelical outreach of the church.   If that is what you thought I had in mind,  then I want you to know that, yes,  I confirm that impression.    God is manifest in us and how we react to the world we live in.  That is the example of Christ.   Our lives should be lived with His in mind.    He fed, perhaps, tens of thousands of people  (the loaves and the fishes  --  is the count of men only?)A dramatic statement of His concern for the social welfare of the community in which He had influence.    His miracles expressed his social concern, as well.      And passages such as Is 58:9-11 make it clear that our search for God will not be complete if it does not included an out-pouring for the hungry and the afflicted.   I, for one, admit my hypocrisy in this part of the ministry of reconciliation.   I have failed in the showing of social concern.   The question, ask by others on this in an effort to continue the fight, is nonetheless, a good question............what are we going to do about the suffering of those not so white and not so rich?    I do not know.   I am just now asking myself this question. And there will be an answer.      there is too much in scripture for me to deny.   A change of mind, for me, is in order and I appreciate Lance and Gary having things to say on this subject that have brought me to this moment.    Grace to you who know not grace, Peace to you who know not peace, Love  to those who show no love   and mercy upon us all   Jd