What Would You Give?

For an entertaining evening, ask the question of your friends or family what you might do with a hundred million dollars, tax free. Given the fact that lotteries are sometimes won at the unbelievable heights of a couple hundred million dollars at a time, this isn’t outside the realm of imagination, and it is a thought that crosses the mind of the poorest homeless person, no matter how unlikely. Let’s say that we happen to obtain the whole amount at once—unlike the lottery money—and we didn’t kill ourselves with drinking or drugs right off the bat. What would one purchase with such a large amount of money—more than any of our needs might warrant?

Perhaps we would buy a new house, filled with stuff. Then we would have to have a new security system, but that would be no problem. We could quit our job and the whole lifestyle we are living dependent on others to meet our needs. Some of us might take the opportunity to get a new family. Others might travel around the world, seeing everything they ever wanted to see. It would mean unlimited freedom. Some might see this as an opportunity to do good, or to change the world into a better place for all. It could be an opportunity to get a particular message out. It would mean amazing power.

What would we give for such an opportunity. Suppose the wealthiest man in the world came up to us and said, “I want to give you a hundred million dollars, tax free. What would you give up for it?” Would you surrender your dignity—do something publicly that would shame you before everyone? Would you surrender your sexuality? What if he asked you to never have sex again in your life for a hundred million dollars? Would you surrender your right arm—have it amputated right off for the sake of all that the money provides you? Would you surrender some of your life—you would have to work for the billionaire, do whatever he wanted, and at retirement he would give you the money?

Most of us would be willing to make such sacrifices—within limits. This is because to have almost unlimited freedom and so much power is worth almost any price we give it, even if it means we are limited in many other ways.

We are often willing to sacrifice much, if only we believe that the exchange is worth the amount we pay. It is amazing to me the huge sacrifices people make for such small gains. A man, in order to gain a small amount of dignity or money, will kill someone, and spend a lifetime in guilt in prison for it. Another woman will give up a life of security and contentment for the excitement and drama of cheating on her husband. Another will live their lives in abuse rather than get away because they have an anxiety of what “might” happen.

These are extreme examples, but all of us, at one point or another, make exchanges that are significant to our lives, but they make the quality of life miserable. We will keep working in a job we hate for a small amount of money each week. We will eat food or smoke things we know will kill us, and make our bodies miserable, because we gain a small pleasure in eating or smoking it. We will marry someone for the security of a relationship, even though the relationship is awful. We will pour our heart and effort and time into a project in the hopes of obtaining some respect, only to be ignored.

It is hard to determine a proper exchange. What is our life really worth? And is it equal to what we actually give it? We desire freedom, we desire respect, we want our deepest longings fulfilled. What are we giving to get that which we most desire? Every life has a price. Are our lives worth the price we paying?

The wealthiest man in the universe is approaching us right now. No, he is not offering us a hundred million dollars—that would be too simple, and that life wouldn’t actually give us what we want anyway. Instead he is offering other, more essential goods. He promises to provide our food, our clothes and often our shelter—a simple existence, but one that offers contentment. He promises to provide peace of mind. He promises to help us deal with our guilt and anger—not just wiping them away, but processing them in a positive way. He promises to grant us justice. He promises to give us the freedom to be the best people we can be. And most importantly, He promises to give us hope—hope for an existence that not only is good for ourselves, but good for everyone else.

What does He want in exchange? He wants us to give up our shoddy existence, to give us trying to seek justice for ourselves. He wants us to stop grasping for our own needs and allowing Him and others to help us. He wants us to give up our crippled ethic, and to adopt one that is complete and is good for all. He wants us to work for Him, to go where He tells us to go and to do whatever He tells us to. He wants us to surrender our possessions and money to those who need it more than we do. He wants us to give up our family, so He can provide us with a family that loves us. He wants us to give up scrounging for our needs so that which we did not even know we need could be provided. In all honesty, He wants our whole life—everything. So we can have a richer, fuller, more satisfactory existence. And this satisfaction He offers is not just for now, but for all eternity.

This is a huge price to pay. But it is a huge thing to receive. It is a fair exchange—give up one’s miserable life for one of generosity and peace. The main issue in such an exchange is that the one giving up one’s life has to trust the one offering him or her a new life. Because to surrender one’s life is the ultimate act of trust. This is why God, in making this offer, says that to be involved in this exchange one must have faith. The less faith one has in the one making the offer, the less the offer means. Because the more of one’s life is surrendered, the better exchange one gets.

What Does That Speak of Us?

How we want to be like Jesus!

We want his righteousness and his ability to please God. We want to live out his life and to always hold on to what is good. For some of us, we want him more than we want anything else - more than life itself, we desire him so. And so should it be.

But it is curious, that though it is clear the gospels teach that we are to live out his life, Jesus himself only mentioned the imitation of himself in one context: that of being persecuted by others.
Jesus said, “Remember the words I spoke to you : ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you, too. (John 15: 18-16:3)”

“If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! (Matthew 10: 34-39)

To be like Jesus is to assuredly be persecuted like Jesus. To not be persecuteted is to fall short of the full call of Jesus and to be like the enemies of Jesus: “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their Fathers treated the false prophets. (Matthew 5: 11-12 & Luke 6:26)”

Even to attain godly character, the most sure way is to gain it through persecution. James says that perseverance of your faith comes only through trials (James 1: 2-4 & Romans 5: 3-5).

And Paul says that it is through the perseverance attained by suffering that we gain character like that of Jesus - and that it is through such character that we have hope in Christ!

It is not just an added benefit that we attain the glory of persecution and suffering - it is our very life! In fact, Paul said, “Anyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (II Timothy 3:12)”

If you live a life of the Spirit you will be rejected by mankind. If you live as Jesus lived, you will be insulted and mistreated. If you walk in the teaching of the apostles, you will be spurned and hated. If god truly resides in you, you will even be beaten, arrested, sentenced and killed (Mark 8: 31-38).

This is the meaning of the cross we must hear. This is a daily sacrifice for those who live in God.

The fact that we rarely experience persecution as a church displays our weakness. But the fact that we do everything in our power to turn aside and walk away from the slight persecutions God gives us - that we stand up in court demanding our rights as citizens for protection - when we ought to be standing in our protection God gave us... What does that speak of us?