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NATIONAL BISHOP'S TURN

Life and Prosperity
Giving more helps us bring our priorities back in line with God’s.

Living the Reign of God.” The cover story of this issue of Canada Lutheran is very challenging for us. How are we doing at living out our lives as disciples, at living the Reign of God? This question is at the heart of the call to spiritual renewal, the call to deepen our spiritual practices and grow closer to God as we pray, read, worship, study, serve, give and tell.

The sentence that struck me the most in the cover story was this: “Rather than following a culture that encourages us to live for our own convenience and comfort, he suggests that we will find more life and more joy by living like Jesus did, as though God’s kingdom is possible, here and now.” For me it really sums up the challenge that is before us. It’s the same challenge that Moses set before the children of Israel before they entered the promised land.

See, I have set before you today life and prosperity,
death and adversity. If you obey the commandments
of the Lord your God that I am commanding you
today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his
ways, and observing his commandments, decrees,
and ordinances, then you shall live and become
numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in
the land that you are entering to possess. But if your
heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led
astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I
declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall
not live long in the land that you are crossing the
Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth
to witness against you today that I have set before
you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life
so that you and your descendants may live.
(Deuteronomy 30:15-19)

In the consumerist culture that surrounds us, the question of “give” is at the heart of the life and death choices we make in terms of following God. In our society our generosity towards ourselves is well-documented. Debt is at an all time high. We continue to strive for a “better way of life”, but at what cost? One sometimes wonders, who owns who? Do we own our possessions, or do they own us? Jesus spoke more about money and possessions than almost anything else. Even in his society, he understood that “where your money is, your heart will be also.”

The call to give, to practice generosity, is a major way that helps us grow out of the stranglehold that our money and possessions have over us. I know this is a life-long struggle for me. I have grown, over time, to be generous in terms of my giving to God. Over many years I have worked my way so that I give more than a tithe to support the work of our church. But I still go through periods of struggling with how much of a claim the remainder of my income has on me. I can get enslaved by my desire for nice things. I get teased (and supported!) about my love of shoes.

But when I am able to give my head and my priorities a shake, I have been able to return to balance, to health, and to life, by re-prioritizing how I use the gifts that God has given me. My therapy against selfishness, against mixing up my wants and my needs, is to give extra gifts to the church or other charities.

Mother Teresa once said, “Give until in hurts.” But perhaps another way of looking at it is to say, “Give until it no longer hurts.” Give until giving is a normal way of life. Give until you don’t have to think about being generous. Give until your priorities are back in line. Give until you choose life. Give until you are living the reign of God.

Canada Lutheran, April/May 2013

Rev. Susan C. Johnson, National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada writes a regular column for each issue of Canada Lutheran.

How is Jesus calling you to tell? Who is God calling you to share your faith with? What do you need to assist you in growing in your ability to share your faith? Share
your “tell” ideas on the ELCIC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Canadian-Lutherans. God bless you as you continue to deepen your discipleship!