Would you rather live in extreme poverty or extreme wealth?

"Would you rather live in extreme poverty or extreme wealth?"

This was the question that was posed to our Life Group this past week. Needless to say it provoked great conversations and emotions during our gathering and it continued when Katie and I returned home. Our discussion further confirmed that Katie and I are extremely passionate, stubborn, and far too well versed in the art of rhetoric and argumentation. It has been very helpful for us to practice two things in these situations.

The first is that it helps for us to acknowledge that when we each take the stand, we are not actually putting the other person on trial or attacking their person-hood, we are merely playing Socrates who was compared to that of a midwife and a gnat-fly. It was said that through his persistent questioning, he gave birth to the truth. Once we are able to acknowledge this, it seems our defensive measures can be called off and we can actually see our common ground and the beautiful truth that has been discovered.

Secondly, it helps to end our "conversations" well. This includes letting the conversation be put to rest so that we can reaffirm each other and come back down from our stands to a place where we are playfully peaceful in the presence of one another.

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As far as the conversation goes, there is something I am chewing on and suppose that I will for some time to come. In all of my estimations of what it is to be Christ-like or a man after God's own heart, I am realizing one simple and profound truth; The Father gave to the point that it hurts. What I reason is that we are invited to do the same. After all, what is it to give from your surplus?

In the discussion of poverty and wealth, we realized that either person; the poor or the wealthy, is able to give from their surplus or from themselves. When giving from a surplus there is no need for strength outside of ourselves because we are "self sufficient" and "self replenish-able". On the contrary, when we give of ourselves, something that hurts to give, it is costly and requires within us a belief that God will be my supply and that the cause of my giving is worth even that of myself.

...The parable of the widow and the 2 copper coins, Jesus' encounter with the rich young ruler, Abraham and Isaac, Jesus' sacrifice on the cross...

All of these stories speak to the nature of true giving and true love. So, whether rich or poor or anywhere in between, we are called to give of ourselves, even to the point it hurts. The pain is not the point nor the aim of our love. We are not called to be masochists. Yet when it hurts, it is then that we remember that God is our provision and that our recipients are worth our giving.

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The questions I am having to ask myself,

• How much of my giving is out of my surplus and how much of it is of myself? Does it hurt?
• How much do I trust God's provision for my life? How much do I trust the work of my own hands?
• Are there areas where I am wrongfully giving too much of myself? Might God be wanting to give to me where I am too busy doing in order to receive? Lest I forget that I am the one in constant and desperate need. (The world can live without James. James cannot live without God.)