"Well done" or "Do more"

For the past 2 months I have been trying to read Radical by David Platt.  Many of you have probably heard of the book or even read it by now.  There has been quite a bit of dialogue about the book this year.  Platt is sometimes accused of being somewhat "over the top" about some of his views on American Christianity.  The theme of the book seems to center around if we as American Christians are doing enough to share the Gospel and help the poor, and if not, what can we do differently.  I will have to admit I can't read more than 3 or 4 pages at a time without having to stop and reassess my own beliefs about whether my version of Christianity is Biblical or just cultural.  It's been a very convicting and uncomfortable read more times than not.  Rick Warren says in The Purpose Driven Life on page 1:  "It's not about you." Platt seems to take this statement to a whole new level.

The book expounds upon Platt's question (paraphrased):  Do we as American Christians claim and enjoy the privileges of being Christians while at the same time delegate many of the obligations of being a Christian to someone else (like a Pastor or Missionary).  I know I really enjoy the privileges (benefits) - grace, salvation, forgiveness, unconditional love, peace, hope, joy, and so much more.  But the obligations (commands) have been a lot more challenging for me to accomplish - loving God first and others as much as I love myself, giving, sacrificing, evangelizing, discipling, or just "going", but especially the sacrificing part.  Something always seems to get in the way of that one.  So, why is that? 

According to his book, 3 billion people around the world - about one-half of the world's population - live on less than $2 per day.  That means I spend more on my cable TV bill than 3 billion people actually earn in a month.  Even more startling is that 26,000 children die every day from starvation and preventable diseases.  That's a very uncomfortable statistic.  If I have clean running water, food to eat every day, clothes to wear, a house to sleep in, and transportation to and from work, I am in the wealthiest 15% of the entire world's population.  So, at what point do my needs and wants cross over from necessities to excesses?  How do I reconcile my American Dream with my obligations as a Christian? 

According to Platt, what could God accomplish through me if I stuck to the basic necessities and gave away everything else, or at least gave more than I am now?  Just $35 can feed a child for a month in a third world country.  What if I gave up my high-def cable TV, my gym membership, my internet, my expensive cell phone plan, or my monthly trip to the movie theater?  How much time and money could I free up to be used for God's Kingdom instead of just maintaining, enjoying, or enlarging my own kingdom?  I don't think there is anything inherently wrong or sinful with any of these things.  But what if it prevents me from giving, going, or participating in His work around the world - or even in my local church?  God doesn't necessarily always want my money.  What He does want is my heart, my participation in His work, and my obedience.  My time and money do tend to follow where my priorities are. 

Maybe Platt is a little "over the top".  I know I definitely don't do enough to spread the Gospel or help the poor.  Maybe I didn't need my new Blackberry when my 2-year-old phone worked just as well.  Maybe I shouldn't spend $9 to see the newest movie when it will be $1 at Red Box in 2 or 3 months.  Maybe my 2004 Jeep will get me from point A to B just as well as a 2011 model.  Maybe a 3-D TV isn't what I really need right now - but it sure is cool.  Is David Platt "radical"?  Maybe.  When I read the New Testament, though, everything Jesus said and did was a little "over the top", too.  Shouldn't He be the example anyway? 

Matthew 6
¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.
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 ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
 ²⁵ “That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? ²⁷ Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
 ²⁸ “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰ And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?
 ³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
 ³⁴ “So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

1 Timothy 6
⁶ Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. ⁷ After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. ⁸ So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

 ⁹ But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
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 ¹⁷ Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. ¹⁹ By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.