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of us get involved in missional work like that. But most of us dont have a
vocation like that, and that means most of us do lots of scout work as a
matter of routine. We have to believe that the mundane matters to God,
and the way to make the mundane matter is to baptize what we do in the
Kingdom vision of Jesus.
Its Not about Money (Completely)
Only 15 percent of American households have a six-figure income, and
only about 5 percent of American individuals have a six-figure income.
Instead of focusing our lives on a six-figure dream, followers of Jesus need
to focus on the Kingdom life, which turns the six-figure dream inside out.
Jesus dream involved a radical detachment from possessions:
But seek first his kingdom
and his righteousness,
and all these things [clothing, food, shelter]
will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33
It involved a willingness to contribute to the needs of others and virtually to
renounce a life soaked in making money:
Sell your possessions and give to the poor.
Luke 12:33
While many in the history of the Church have given up everything they
owned in order to serve others, and I think of St. Basil the Great and St.
Francis of Assisi, the rest of us are challenged to cut back and to tone it
down so we can take from our abundance and provide for those who are in
need.
When the Lord of the Christian is a poor man, the wealth of His followers is
brought into embarrassing clarity. When the Kingdom dream of Jesus
shapes our vocations, it turns us from folks who strive for wealth into folks
whose vocations are used for others.
Just Say No
There are too many places where we find the worlds deepest hunger, and
many of them appeal to us as the place where we might find our deepest
gladness. When we try to do too many good things, we burn out or we tune
out or we leave out someone we love. Ten years of chasing all of the
worlds deepest hungers can almost ruin a life.
Jesus said this so well when He told some would-be disciples that Kingdom
dreams take priority. One man, distracted by his family, asked Jesus if he
could stop following Him and do something else. Jesus said, No one who
puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of
God (Luke 9:62).
Those are strong words; they are also true words. The focus, Jesus
teaches all of us, must be to do the thing we are called to do as something
swallowed up in Kingdom work.
In order to do that one thing well, one must guard from trying to do too
many other things. Saying no to other things is what keeps life balanced.
Andy Crouch, a well-known and very smart Christian thinker, said we
shouldnt try to save the world but we should play our part in the
redemptive work of this world with a small group of friends. I completely
agree with Andy on this. Id put it this way: the way to save the world is for
everyone to do the one thing God calls them to do. When we start trying to
do everything in an enthusiastic dash to save the world, we neither save
the world nor do what we are called to do.