Status, access, power and stuff?
I recently heard a news story on the radio about a new way to encourage people to obey the law. You can see the story for yourself here. It seems that some communities are giving REWARDS for people who OBEY the speed limit. The law-abiding citizens get to split a pot of money, if they are selected in the lottery of speed limit following drivers. The money comes from a portion of fines levied against speeders.
The guest for the story, Gabe Zichermann, said this type of thing is popular because we are motivated by four things: status, access, power and stuff. Zichermann may be correct in that assertion. But are these the principles by which we should be guided?
It is as simple as looking at the story of the Good Samaritan. (You can read the story for yourself here.) Jesus told the story of a man who was lying on the roadside, having been beaten and robbed, and unable to move. The righteous and religious people passed him by--probably afraid of putting themselves in a precarious situation. But a Samaritan stops to help. Samaritans were despised and looked down upon by Jesus' first hearers. A Samaritan as the hero of a story turned all their expectations upside-down.
The Samaritan picks up the victim of the road-side crime and cares for him. Then he takes him to the an inn and pays for everything. He puts down enough money for the man to stay as long as he needs. The Samaritan tells the inn keeper, "Anything else he needs, put it on my tab."
Jesus finishes the story with this charge: "Go and do likewise." No rewards, no status, no access to special privileges, no power, no stuff. The Samaritan decided to shun all postions of status, access, power and stuff to show true compassion and justice.
The Gospel's Call is to forgo the desires for the temporal things that come with status, access, power and stuff. That's much easier said than done. But Jesus commanded us to do so. Therefore He will make the way for us to do so, when we follow His Call.
As Brian Russell says, "The status we embrace establishes the limits of our ability to reach others with the Gospel." Emptying ourselves of status always increases our ability to show God's compassion and justice.
Status, access, power and stuff?
I recently heard a news story on the radio about a new way to encourage people to obey the law. You can see the story for yourself here. It seems that some communities are giving REWARDS for people who OBEY the speed limit. The law-abiding citizens get to split a pot of money, if they are selected in the lottery of speed limit following drivers. The money comes from a portion of fines levied against speeders.
The guest for the story, Gabe Zichermann, said this type of thing is popular because we are motivated by four things: status, access, power and stuff. Zichermann may be correct in that assertion. But are these the principles by which we should be guided?
It is as simple as looking at the story of the Good Samaritan. (You can read the story for yourself here.) Jesus told the story of a man who was lying on the roadside, having been beaten and robbed, and unable to move. The righteous and religious people passed him by--probably afraid of putting themselves in a precarious situation. But a Samaritan stops to help. Samaritans were despised and looked down upon by Jesus' first hearers. A Samaritan as the hero of a story turned all their expectations upside-down.
The Samaritan picks up the victim of the road-side crime and cares for him. Then he takes him to the an inn and pays for everything. He puts down enough money for the man to stay as long as he needs. The Samaritan tells the inn keeper, "Anything else he needs, put it on my tab."
Jesus finishes the story with this charge: "Go and do likewise." No rewards, no status, no access to special privileges, no power, no stuff. The Samaritan decided to shun all postions of status, access, power and stuff to show true compassion and justice.
The Gospel's Call is to forgo the desires for the temporal things that come with status, access, power and stuff. That's much easier said than done. But Jesus commanded us to do so. Therefore He will make the way for us to do so, when we follow His Call.
As Brian Russell says, "The status we embrace establishes the limits of our ability to reach others with the Gospel." Emptying ourselves of status always increases our ability to show God's compassion and justice.
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