When authorities clash. Issues with submission.

Do not give money to beggars. They are a public safety risk.

Do not give money to beggars. They are a public safety risk.

Do not give money to beggars. They are a public safety risk.

This message was broadcast over the loudspeakers at Melbourne Central the other day, and I was horrified. What does this say about our society when we can't even give money to beggars?

I wasn't happy because giving to the poor is something my God commanded me to do, and it's something I enjoy doing as well. Arguments against it are, "Yeah, but they'll just spend it on drugs." God never told us to judge whether or not we should give based on what they were probably going to do with that gift. He quite simply told us to give.

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. Deuteronomy 15:7,11

He who despises his neighbor sins,but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. Proverbs 14:21

If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:17-18

These are just a few of the many, many verses about giving to the needy in the bible. The verses on giving cover a number of things, such as the blessings that come with giving, the fact that if you listen to those who cry out in need God in turn will listen to you, and that it is sinful to ignore the cries of the needy. Not once in the Bible does it say, "Give to the needy unless you know they're going to abuse what you give to them" or "Only give to people who don't look like they could be a public danger". We were called to give, not judge then give.

So in my heart I decided that I would give to beggars if they approached me at the station, in obedience to what Jesus commanded. And then later I realised that to do this while knowing my actions went against the authorities at the station was as much as sin to God as ignoring the poor was.

What to do? What to do?

I cannot compromise on God's Word. Therefore, I must submit to authorities unless they contradict God. In this case the authorities went against God's commands, so I feel quite justified in still giving to the poor. And yet I don't want to rebel either. Is there a way to obey God in both without compromising either of God's commands?

Solution? The thing is, giving doesn't necessarily have to be a monetary gift. I can still give, in obedience to God and love to others, while submitting to the authorities God has placed in my life.

So next time, rather than give a beggar money, maybe I'll buy them a cheeseburger =)

God likes fences

God likes fences. This was clearly demonstrated today on our way back from Frankston, when we had a bit of an accident. It involved going a bit too fast around a corner that resulted in sliding, over correcting that led to even more sliding across several lanes, and driving into a ditch. Thankfully, no one was hurt, the car did not roll (although it should have given the steepness of the ditch, the way we entered the ditch, and the slipperiness of the grass), and we did not slam into a pole. But, most miraculously of all, we narrowly missed hitting a wire fence.

Seriously, there was more praising God for the fact we didn't hit a fence than for the fact that we were alive. And it wasn't so much "phew, we didn't hit the fence and wreck the car" but more "phew, we didn't hit the fence and wreck the fence. Praise God!"

After I got over the humour of nearly being in an accident, I started wondering why we all thought it was important that we didn't hit the fence. Why did God care enough about the fence that we shouldn't hit it? Does God care about fences? Yes, yes He does!



Okay, so the focus of this photo is the powerline, not the fence. That's okay. I like black and white photos =)

So why does God care about fences? Fences are used to prevent or restrict movement across a boundary, and provide a visible mark as to where that boundary is. God protects fences to protect boundaries.

So why does God care about boundaries?

Boundaries mark the end of one thing and the start of another. Boundaries are the lines that define the limit of something. When you cross a boundary, you have left one state for another. Often there are boundaries in our lives, self-imposed or decided upon by others, that we should not cross because they separate what is "right or acceptable" from "wrong and potentially dangerous". Even God has set very important boundaries for us that we should adhere to.

It's very easy and often tempting to cross boundaries, to exceed the personal limits we set. It's easy to get caught up in the moment and temporarily forget that "I should not go there". Even people who are morally and spiritually strong and very self-aware occasionally overstep the mark. And sometimes it is not clear where exactly the boundary is. It's kind of grey as to "where this ends and that begins", sort of a no-man's land that requires individual discernment as to where to draw the line. At other times the boundary can be blindingly obvious, and yet still so easy to cross. Take, for instance, Spiderman:



The picture is very blurry, but it shows Spiderman surrounding by his sleeping children and, unfortunately, his wife/mother. He crossed a big boundary that even nature detests. But let's not go there. Maybe Spiderman isn't the best example. Something very beautiful came of him doing something very bad. Well, God is gracious.

Moving on. How can we avoid crossing boundaries? This is where fences come in. Fences are important. Fences mark the boundary. It's hard to cross boundaries if you walk into the fence. In your situation, if there are certain boundaries you should not cross, then put up warning signs and fences! Set yourself some very clear limits as to what is and what is not acceptable. If you are highly likely to cross the boundary, go and set up fences that are not so easy to get over! Get other people to help you define the boundary (though be warned that their fences might not quite work for you). More importantly, sit down and figure it out with God. He knows better than anyone else what you can and cannot deal with. He knows exactly how far you can go before you have gone too far.

So why have I wasted the last half hour writing about fences and boundaries? I guess I've been thinking about it a lot lately, and the almost-accident made me start thinking about it more from God's perspective. I want to share this, partially so you can learn from it, but mostly because I need to clarify this in my mind.

So to answer the question: God likes fences because they prevent us from crossing boundaries. (Of course, this is context sensitive. I'm sure God doesn't really like you putting up fences in your heart that prevent you from getting close to Him.)

I ate too many carrot sticks. I now feel sick.

Helping my friend

I was having emotional problems. A good friend of mine, Arman Filat, has started doing naughty things because of issues with his family. Naughty things such as stealing the bread and having noisy parties. It really stressed me out, and not just because I was getting the blame for stealing the bread. I was really worried about Arman Filat, and the worry grew worse when I couldn't think of a way to help him. Then God revealed to me this while I was studying 2 Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 1:23-24
I call to God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth. Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm.

The church in Corinth was unhappy with Paul for many reasons, one of which included his change of plans. He didn't visit them when he previously said he would. In these verses he reveals that he wasn't going to visit in order to benefit them. As a leader Paul wanted to work alongside them and help them grow in their faith. They weren't going to grow very much if every time they had a problem he showed up and dealt with it for them. They were at a stage where they were quite capable of doing things themselves, even if they were still prone to making errors (e.g. 2 Corinthians 2:5-8).

What this means if you're leading someone: Sometimes when we love someone and want the best for them we have to do things they will not like, they will not understand and they will not agree with. The church in Corinth didn't understand why Paul changed his mind, and they weren't happy with this or his previous letter. When you have spiritual authority over someone, or you are looking after someone, you need wisdom. You need to know how to act and what advice to give. You need to know when to act and when to offer advice. You need to know when to intervene, and when you should take a step back so they can deal with it themselves. You need wisdom from God. If you rely on your own wisdom, your own reasoning and your own understanding you will probably make mistakes.

Sometimes you don't need to do everything for them. You just need to work alongside them.

What this means when you come under someone else's authority: Sometimes when someone loves you they will do things to you that you will not like, you will not understand and you will not agree with. Even if you don't quite understand, you still need to submit and act in obedience.


Okay, so this is some rebellious emo kid and not Arman Filat (Arman Filat is a possum) but hey, I'm just trying to make this aesthetically pleasing.

For me this means that I can't just fix Arman Filat's problems for him. I will help him when God opens the door for me, but until then I will just pray for him and just be a good friend. Stressing over it won't help anyone.