Worshiping My Common Sense

Susan hooked me on Oswald Chambers book, My Utmost for His Highest. Good stuff for a guy who died about 100 years ago.

He was talking about having grace for today and commenting on Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. All of it good. When he quoted the portion of the chapter on "having nothing," I was struck by his take on being poor, or in need. Verse 10 says, "sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything." Chambers comments: "Never reserve anything. Pour out the best you have, and always be poor. Never be diplomatic and careful about the treasure God gives. This is poverty triumphant." That doesn't sit well with some of my friends, I am sure. It didn't with me. Who wants poverty?! God doesn't ask us to be poor, does he? I don't think he does, even though some are, and we are called to alleviate suffering, pain, and dilemma where ever we can. Look at Jesus' take on this though: "Blessed are the poor [in spirit] for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." I've got to tell you, to honest with you, sometimes my reaction to some of the things Jesus said is laced with incredulity. If he was just some "plain Joe" (sorry to all you awesome Joes out there! nothing personal!), I'd think he was off his rocker. But, this is Jesus we're talking about. He turns things upside down so often and catches our minds off guard to help us see what is really important. This "poor" saying conveys a pretty amazing attitude and there are a couple takes on that truthful saying of Jesus. But, in a very real sense, our concern for our own need can be converted into an orchestrated mission toward blessing others.

I think what Chambers is saying is true. We are not as blessed when we hold back what we have. What God pours in, we pour out. Like the story of the widow in the Old Testament. She poured out oil from the bottom of the jar and it never ran dry. Her task was to give all she had and God kept pouring back in. The picture painted of her was one of poverty, but she always had what she needed for her family. Jesus said something like, Give and it will be given back to you many times over what you gave. Chambers goes on with regard to "guarding" what we have and not allowing God to be our guard. If we try to guard ourselves and our possessions, we remove ourselves from God's deliverance. He says, "The most devout among us become atheistic in this connection; we do not believe God, we enthrone common sense and tack the name of God onto it. We do lean to our own understanding, instead of trusting God with all our hearts."

I wonder how many times we mask our stockpiling with our common sense. We have such common sense reasoning to keep us safe that we aren't able to help others because of it. We remove ourselves from His deliverance and provision and worship our own wisdom. It's a hard lesson to learn, one that I'm still suffering some pain from. I could say a bunch more about the mental gymnastics and pain I've experienced with this over the years, but I'll spare you.

My prayer is this: May God grant me the grace to never be "diplomatic and careful about the treasure" he gives me.