Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

Because you were faithful in very little, have authority over ten cities. – Luke 19:17

And what father is there among you? Who, if his son asks for some bread, will offer him a stone?- Luke 11:11

I read this blog entry that stated the statistic that church members gave 2.65% of their income. It also went on to say that if we actually gave 10%, then we would have added an additional $164 billion in revenue that could have completely wiped out world hunger from 2005.

I thought about it, and believe that is somewhat true, but really, how much are we impacting the needs of others around us with the little that we can give? In actuality, it’s not little. Most people, including myself, say, “if only god gave me more money so i can pay off my debt and give more to the church”. But also what most pastors say is, “if only people gave more to the church, then we can pay off our debt so we can give to the poor”. Both the pastor and the congregation are in the same boat. World hunger only exists because the pursuit of happiness and the American dream, are its vicious predators

God never commanded us to build structures for fellowship. As a matter of fact the temple was never used as a ministry of outreach, but only a place of worship. But God did command us to provide shelter for those who need it. That is where the philosophy of building church structures fail.