Members of the Church at Laodicea

You may have gathered from my choice of favorite links that I tend to be philosophically conservative—in theology, economics, and politics I tend to lean to the “right”. And your conclusions would be largely correct. “Largely”, I say, because in fact, when it comes to issues involving just distribution of the wealth of the world, the protection of life, and the stewardship over the bounties of God’s creation, I tend to wander a little left of center. Some might even accuse me of being...horrors!...“liberal”. I think such facile positional pigeonholing masks a sinister sophistry that allows us to avoid hard questions for pre-digested “answers”. And the resulting cacophony of cross accusations and holier-than-thou rhetoric spewing from both sides obscures the real needs of our society with the fog of warring words.

While I think that our representative government and its maze of bureaucracies are the most ineffective and inefficient tools to use in addressing the pressing needs of people and the world (though far more just than other forms of human government), I think that as Christians, our commitment to a radical obedience to our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ calls us to walk a narrow and difficult path. Charity, like hospitality, must surely begin at home. But if it stays at home and doesn’t venture forth to minister to the despair of a fallen world, offering more than a euphemistic “be warm and filled...God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life...”, then not only are we not “fulfilling” the Great Commission, we have not even begun to obey it. Incidentally, a command may not be “fulfilled”—it may ONLY be obeyed.

You might be surprised that the topic most often addressed in the Bible is the proper use of money, as emblematic of the resources with which we have individually been entrusted by an abundantly generous God. Scriptures addressing the just disposition of resources emphasize our obligation to help the poor and downtrodden, the aged and infirm, the weak and fatherless. The piety of poverty and simplicity should not, however, be considered inimical to financial acuity and industry. Rather, we are taught to be spare with ourselves that we might be generous to others, and thus demonstrate, in a practical manner, the reality of our faith. This is the difference between the “pompatus” of love, and the impetus of love.

To our shame, Christian evangelicals, as a vocal source for repentance and renewal within the church, have been strangely silent, blind to the point of self-delusion concerning the crying need that surrounds us. At a dizzying pace we continue to construct our large “meta” churches with even larger “worship” centers to pleasure ourselves with pious entertainment and bask in the warmth of our sodden, self-deceiving spirituality. But our complacency regarding the injustice that surrounds us accuses us before God and the watching world. We will travel around the world (or finance the travel of someone ELSE around the world) to deliver a gospel tract, but we won’t travel across town, or even across the street, to reach out to a neighbor in need...assuming, of course, we even KNOW who our neighbors are.

Some with wounded sensibilities might protest, saying, “But we must employ our wealth for the benefit of our children. After all, doesn’t the Bible instruct us that one who doesn’t care for one’s family is worse than a heathen? Jesus himself said, ‘The poor you have with you always,’ didn’t he?” But how often do we see families bestow a largesse upon children who, unable to appreciate their abundance, spend staggering amounts of money to adopt a “shabby chic” appearance? How often do we see grandparents, old, lonely and in ill health, languish at their pre-mortuaries, yearning for a visit from their financially successful but ever “too busy” progeny. Jesus confronted the hypocrisy of the religious leaders of his day, who used the excuse that their possessions were bequeathed to God (“corban”: dedicated to God) and were therefore unavailable for the support of their parents.

Laodicea was among the wealthiest of the seven cities of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). In the book Major Cities of the Biblical World, edited by R. K. Harrison, the scholar C. J. Hemer of Tyndale House, in Cambridge, England, writes: “Laodicea...grew to affluence as a commercial city at a major crossroads of the country. It had one serious disadvantage, namely, the lack of good drinking water, for nearly all the many streams of the district are from hot springs, clouded with calcareous and other impurities...The rings of line deposit inside the pipes testify plainly after nineteen hundred years to the fact that this water...was warm and so impure that it must have made the traveler vomit.” He goes on to relate that Laodicea “was a great banking center”. It manufactured “woolen garments from a locally developed breed of ‘black’ sheep”. It was also a highly reputed center for training in the healing arts. Its specialty was ophthalmology, and it “made money from the sale of eye ointments”. Consider, then, the Book of Revelation (3:14-22), in which John the apostle was commanded to write the following sober words to the church at Laodicea:

These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth! You 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. I 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.

Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here 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. To the one who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and set down with my Father on his throne.

He who has an ear, let him her what the Spirit says to the churches.