Categories: uncategorized
Date: 20 December 2007 12:54:04
Have you ever heard the stories that other Christian's tell about God providing what they needed completely out of the blue? How many of you have actually encountered this in your lives?
Until now I hadn't.
What Judith didn't mention was that the person who had donated the money is a non-believer. His parents are church people but he isn't. Now isn't that a wonderful way for God to work?
Some may say that Christians should only accept "clean" money. There are lots of places out there that offer money to charitable groups, religious ones or not, but some groups won't apply because of the way in which the money is made.
This provides Christian causes with a very moral problem. Can we righfully accept money to use in God's work from these causes? Is funding from something such as the National Lottery acceptable? Would accepting money from brewers or arms firms be allowable to Christians?
I'll be honest and say that I'm personaly divided on this issue. Part of me says that money obtained through the weakness or suffering of others should be refused. Yet the other part of me wants to use any money that is received to further the work of God in helping others, some of whom are victims of these sources.
Spurgeon said that he'd accept money from the devil if he could use it to further the kingdom of God.
I remember the conference we went to at Caring For Life. There was a section on ways of raising funds for their work. The story was told of one woman who told them that she played the lottery every week. Her aim was to win and then give the money to Caring For Life. In the mean time the money that she paid in could be used by them if they obatined grants from the lottery.
This is where modern charitable giving has been corrupted. People play the lottery because it helps good causes, or goes on things that our goverment should provide from taxation. So they see it as a way of helping those less fortunate, while giving them the chance to win a million or so if they're lucky.
Then I have another thought: how do I know that the money that we're offered in the future is God given? I suppose I would have to rely on such gifts coming unsolicited. If they arrived in this way then maybe I'd know that they were God inspired.
So I've decided that the only thing to do is ask what is the best way forward. I don't expect replies here, as this is more of a pray request than anything else.
Jeff