My Social Responsibility – What is Mine

Greetings Dear Reader,

In view of the fourth chapter of Acts and the mention earlier in chapter two I must seriously consider the level of my attachment to things.  It seems that the church at large is mostly guilty of caring for things of the needs of others.  I need to examine this very carefully.  The Apostles were being very successful.  They were exhibiting power to a level that the priests were worried and commanding them to be silent about Jesus.

The number of Christ followers was growing daily.  Sickness was being dealt with miraculously.  Those arriving had other needs and the way they were being met was also a sign of the devotion to Christ that we need.

Acts 4:32 - 37 The whole group of believers lived in harmony. No one called any of his possessions his own. Instead, they shared everything. With great power the apostles continued to testify that the Lord Jesus had come back to life. God's abundant good will was with all of them. None of them needed anything. From time to time, people sold land or houses and brought the money to the apostles. Then the money was distributed to anyone who needed it. Joseph, a descendant of Levi, had been born on the island of Cyprus. The apostles called him Barnabas, which means "a person who encourages."  He had some land. He sold it and turned the money over to the apostles.

People were selling land and giving the money to the cause.  The money was not used to build buildings or create a ministry.  The money was immediately disbursed to anyone who needed.  They did not consider possessions as possessed by an individual. 

You see what this says is that the first Christian society practiced a Christ centered form of socialism.  Christ made it clear that our possessions did not matter.  Imagine the impact the church could have if as one it adopted this attitude now.  More important for me, what do I really own.  Everything about who I am should be focused on following Christ.  Everything I have is given to me by God.  To treat things as mine and hold onto them over caring for others is terrible.

The ability of the church to impact the needs of others is not gone.  It is sleeping in the clutching hands of those who value things over humans.  Why are we not known this way worldwide?  The name Christian should be synonymous with generosity and selflessness.  I must find a way to release my hold on things so that I can release more resources to the gospel. Clinging to anything above showing Christ to others is sending the message that those things are more important.  This must not be true in anyone who claims to follow Christ.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."