Crazy Guest Blogger #8 – Storing Up Treasures
Storing Up Treasures
By Vanessa
(Journeytojames1-27.blogspot.com)
My husband and I do not presently own a house. We live on one income because we feel God has called me to stay at home in order to invest in and raise our children. Therefore we do not have a ton of money. By American standards, we are not wealthy. However, by the world’s standards, we are filthy, unbelievably rich.
However, this seems to be a hang up when people hear that we are not only adding another child to our family, but adopting. Presently we are waiting at #11 on our agency’s waitlist for a infant boy, and we have a 2 year old biological boy.
Shouldn’t we not have any more children until we own a home? Shouldn’t we not spend the money we have on an adoption until we have a lot of money in savings? Until we have a nice little nest egg? As well as “emergency” funds that are filled to the brim…just in case?
It makes me sad….overwhelmingly sad.
What has happened to the state of the Christian mindset when the possibility of needing an “emergency fund” of money in the bank is more pressing than the life of a child, abandoned and alone? That a lonely and scared child should wait until we store up our treasures in a bank?
As Christians, we have stripped down Christ and what he stood for into some self-help Guru. Your Best Life Now! 10 Steps to Prosperity!
Many quickly turn the page when Christ talks about how hard it is for a rich man to enter heaven, that we are called to live selflessly, to meet the needs of the poor and orphaned, to follow him with all we are and all we have… because isn’t it so much more enjoyable to focus on the parts of scripture where it talks about Christ being our comfort, meeting our needs, and being our helper?
The reality is that like the rest of the country, Christians have become so obsessed with comfort and stability that we are terrified for Christ to stretch us, to refine us, to push us, to make us uncomfortable. To live radically for Him. But this is exactly what we are called to do.
In Matthew 6 Christ calls us to store up treasures in heaven:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Our treasure? Christ and the children he has created. I do not see a greater emergency in this world than a child without a home. A child who most likely will die alone from poverty or Aids. Our money can sit in a bank waiting for some emergency or it can become life in in the form of a laughing, cuddling, child.
Is it even a choice? Really think about that…when everything is stripped away it comes down to Life or Money…how is that even a choice?
Believe me, I am so far from perfect in this area. To be brutally honest, for a very long time I was obsessed with putting money into our savings account. It was just my thing. It brought me pleasure to see the numbers rise. It made me feel comfort. Now, as more and more money goes towards the adoption and other outreach efforts and I see those bank account numbers get lower and lower…fear sets in. My heart races and all the what-ifs start pounding away at my resolve. I have even sat there crying like a big baby because following God’s call is so uncomfortable sometimes. But it is in those moments where I feel a whisper in my heart:
Do you trust Me? Do you trust My call and provision in your life? Do you trust my Word?
Yes God, yes.
Then put it into action. Let your life reflect Me. Faith without deeds is dead.
So I go back to the scripture, back to God’s word, back to the truth…over and over again, and learn to truly rely on and trust in God.
Like a tightrope walker across two high buildings, we have to focus our eyes on Him and his Word. If we look down, if we take our eyes off Him, we are going to fall.
I will leave you with the beginning of Chapt 4 in Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love. Be challenged with me today- be uncomfortable.
Chapt 4 is about this scripture found in Revelations:
14“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. 19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” -Rev 3
Chapter Four: Profile of the lukewarm
Crazy Love, by Francis Chan
“It is not scientific doubt, not atheism, not pantheism, not agnosticism, that in our day and in this land is likely to quench the light of the gospel. It is a proud, sensuous, selfish, luxurious, church-going, hollow-hearted prosperity.[ii]”
“Lukewarm people give money to charity and the church… as long as it doesn’t impinge on their standard of living. If they have a little extra and it is easy and safe to give, they do so. After all, God loves a cheerful giver, right?[i]”
“Lukewarm people are moved by stories about people who do radical things for Christ, yet they do not act. They assume such action is for the “extreme” Christians, not average ones. Lukewarm people call “radical” what Jesus expected of all His followers.”
“Lukewarm people will serve God and others, but there are limits to how far they will go, or how much time, money, and energy they are willing to give.”
“Lukewarm people are thankful for their luxuries and comforts and rarely try and give as much as possible to the poor. They are quick to point out, “Jesus never said money is the root of all evil, only that the love of money is.” Untold numbers of lukewarm people feel ‘called’ to minister to the rich; very few feel ‘called’ to minister to the poor.”
I love it! Thank you for sharing your heart. People think my husband and I are crazy too…that we live in a 2 bedroom home and are adopting and will be a family of 4. It's unheard of for two kids to share a room. That we don't have piles saved up but God has always provided for every need even though we had no idea how! I kinda like being the crazy family member! 🙂
Wow, your bit on lukewarmness made a really godo point. Isn't it interesting how easy it is to lose the heat and become lukewarm? I am so inspired when I read stories like yours, keep resisting the North American status quo! Thanks for encouraging us to do the same.
Michelle
Love this post! Thanks for sharing Vanessa! We've heard more than a few times that adopting ( to add to the 3 we already have) wouldn't be "fair" because we can't provide a college fund for the 3 we have not to mention more. As if that even matters!
I guess I have seen the other side of this first hand. We have relatives that have 2 biological children, then adopted a little boy from Africa with some obvious physical handicaps. They had no 'emergency fund' or any savings set aside after the adoption. In about 2 months, the father (sole breadwinner) was fired from his job. They have found that the little boy has other health issues (no surprise to anyone but themselves) and they can't afford it. So, they're asking a few relatives for loans, etc. (Relying on the people who DO have savings accounts and emergency funds). Frankly, I don't believe that's right either. (Neither borrower nor lender be…) There has to be some BALANCE, IMHO.
To Anon, that is a situation that can occur regardless of if the child is adopted or not. People loose their jobs everyday, children get sick, etc its part of life unfortunately. There is nothing wrong with putting money into savings, and being responsible parents. As stated in my post, we have a saving account. The problem comes when *that* becomes more important then stepping out to do the work we as Christians are called to- when we refuse to step out of our comfort zone. Hope that helps clarify.
I guess I misunderstood the comments, "Our money can sit in a bank waiting for some emergency or it can become life in in the form of a laughing, cuddling, child." And all the references to being "lukewarm" when I believe people also need to be wise and take care of their families (both biblical concepts). Yes, people can have unplanned circumstances regardless if they've adopted or not (obviously), but what I don't agree with is people a)judging Christians with money as "lukewarm" (hopefully that wasn't your intent by all those references??) and b) relying on the "lukewarm" Christians with emergency funds/savings as their bailout plan for what in reality is lack of planning/taking responsibility/wisdom. Yes, we do need to step out of our comfort zone, and we need to be "wise as serpents and gentle as doves."
I'm really not trying to be difficult. It really is a hot topic for me right now as we are the "planful" Christians and we have been judged so harshly that maybe I'm just hypersensitive on this issue.
The quote "Our money can sit in a bank waiting for some emergency or it can become life in in the form of a laughing, cuddling, child" refers to God's call on our life to adopt a child. That money can sit in an emergency fund, or can be used to redeem a child's life. That doesn't mean that we will not work to continue to save money, it just means that if God calls you to something, wanting _____ (an emergency fund, whatever) really doesn't cut it. To be honest, I would agree that you are just hyper sensitive. No where did I say nor do I judge Christians with money as “lukewarm”. I happen to have some extremely wealthy family members who are the most on fire for God and who ask "how much do we need to keep?" when giving, rather than "how much do we have to give?". Which, in essence, is exactly my point. Some books that deal with this topic and that I would recommend, are The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Sterns, and Radical by David Platt. They are much better with words than I will ever be 🙂
This will be my last comment as I don't want to spend any more time on this.
“Our money can sit in a bank waiting for some emergency or it can become life in in the form of a laughing, cuddling, child” refers to God’s call on our life to adopt a child. That money can sit in an emergency fund, or can be used to redeem a child’s life." True, but don't rely on the emergency funds/finances of other people if an emergency comes your way & you're not prepared as that's hypocritical. (If there's one point I want you to get, this is it!)
I agree we need to give abundantly, but we also need to be wise stewards. At some point, we're not helping anyone (in this case the adopted child) if an emergency comes and we can't afford a home, food or medical care.
"To be honest, I would agree that you are just hyper sensitive." I admitted that that may be true (though my husband disagrees that it is true which tells me a LOT); however, I don't think you have enough information from 2 paragraphs of comments from someone you have never met to agree or disagree or make that judgement (and yes, it is a judgemental statement).
Dave Ramsey is also a great author and I would recommend his books to you.
Though I obviously disagree with you on many points (too many to get into here), I do wish you well in your journey of adoption.
First, after this many comments can't you do away with the Anon posting? That is so silly!
Second, your comment of "but don’t rely on the emergency funds/finances of other people if an emergency comes your way & you’re not prepared as that’s hypocritical"
Don't worry, we won't 🙂
Its kind of weird that you would get so defensive about a person posting their own thoughts about their personal journey to something God called them to do. I don't know, I do find it interesting that you would react this way! I wish you the best though.
I agree with Vanessa, as Francis Chan in his book Crazy Love said:
"I wrote this book because much of our talk doesn't match our lives. We say things like, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me," and "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." Then we live and plan like we don't believe God even exists. We try to set our lives up so everything will be fine even if God doesn't come through. But true faith means holding nothing back. It means putting every hope in God's fidelity to His promises."
Anon, add Crazy Love to you reads!
Oh jeez, Anon get off your soapbox, you are totally missing the mark. Way to read someones post with defensive, skewed glasses and then judge them incorrectly.
Well said, young lady.
Vanessa, I love your post and agree whole heartedly. We have two bio kids, one adopted and another in the process of being adopted. We live on one teacher's income and have watched God provide again and again in the form of money for the adoptions and for emergencies as they come up. It is a beautiful thing to watch God fulfill his promises to us.
I love Chapter Four of Crazy Love. It is not always easy to hear the truth and much harder to obey, but such blessings come from this obedience!
God bless your family and your adoption process!