Giving Away Someone Else's Train Tickets

Suggested Reading: Acts 4:23-37

One of my favorite holiday movies is White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney. Near the beginning of the movie, Wallace and Davis go to see a sister-act as a favor to an old friend and intervene  when the sisters are exploited by a hotel manager. In order to help the girls get away, Phil Davis gives the Haynes sisters a set of train tickets so they can leave town. Of course, Davis doesn't tell his partner that he gave away their tickets and Wallace is furious at first. It is one thing to give away your own things to help somebody else. It is another thing entirely for someone else to give away your things for you. In the end, Wallace comes around and is glad that his partner gave away their tickets, but Wallace's reaction displays a line that some Christians don't know how to walk.

At the end of Acts chapter four, when Peter and John have finally been released after their arrest for healing a lame man, the passage shares with us that "All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had." (Acts 4:32, NLT). Sometimes, I think we make the mistake of reading this verse to say, "And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they took from each other what they needed." There is a very big difference between those two statements.

As believers we are called to share with those in need. We are called to disciple new believers and to lead by example. But we are not called to force other people to do the right thing. One of the reasons that religious freedom was written into the American constitution was that a group of God-fearing men realized something very important - noone can force another person to change their heart. History has demonstrated time and time again that we cannot force other people to accept our own beliefs through the use of force, pressure, or intimidation. We may change their behavior, but we can never change their heart.

As Christians, we cannot force people into sharing. We can only teach them by example. We can share out of our own wealth of learning and materials things, but we should not force anyone else to do so. Jesus taught that we are to hold ourselves to a very different standard than the standard to which we hold other people. Jesus gave this advice for judging ourselves. "He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters" (Matthew 12:30, NIV) but told us "for whoever is not against us is for us" (Mark 9:40, NIV) when judging others. 

As believers we must have hearts that are willing and eager to obey the teachings of Christ and to lead in generosity and charity by example, not by decree. 

I Wish I Could Get Attacked For That...

During the last presidential campaign, I heard a commercial blasting one of the presidential candidates as someone who used to have a Swiss bank account. Aside from the fact that owning a Swiss bank account doesn't have any direct bearing on one's qualifications to be president, my first thought as I heard the commercial was, "I wish I had a Swiss bank account!"

Then I got to thinking about what I would do if I had enough money to warrant a Swiss bank account. Obviously I would be saving some of it (that's what Swiss bank accounts are for), but what else would I do? I would imagine that many of us have those fantasies from time to time. What would I do if I won the lottery? What would I do if someone left me a million dollars? How would I spend that kind of money? I've known a few people who suddenly came into money and I have discovered that the answer to that question is surprisingly predictable: they spend it on the same kinds of things they already spend their money on, just to greater extremes. People who already spend money on their family tend to spend even more. People who give to the church tend to give even more. People who waste their money tend to waste it even more.

As I was pondering this phenomenon I ran across this verse from Psalm 37:26 about the righteous person, "He is always generous, always lending…" (HCSB). When I read that verse, I immediately played the devil's advocate (not literally), asking, "Well what if he doesn't have much money?" But then I realized the verse didn't say, "He is generous when he has a lot" or "He lends money when he can afford to." The proverb says, "He is always generous, always lending…" The righteous person doesn't give because he can afford to; the righteous person gives because of who he is.

Jesus reinforced this principle in a number of parables, most notably the parable of the talents where three different men are given sums of money to use in their lord's name. At the end of the story, those who have been faithful with the little they have been given are rewarded with more and the one who did not manage for his lord's benefit had everything taken away from him. Jesus ends the parable with the master telling his faithful managers, "You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share in your master's joy!" (Matthew 25:21,23, HSCB). Jesus was teaching that what you do with a little, you will also do with a lot.

If you ever wondered how you would handle a sudden influx of wealth, look at the things you spend your money on now and you will find out. Be faithful and generous with the little you have and you never know when God might give you the opportunity to be faithful and generous even more.