A
friend of mine took this photograph of a homeless man lying under a bridge in
Philadelphia and of a Mercedes SUV, with blacked out windows and a vanity plate
“ENTITLD”, parked within ten feet of the man.
When
I first saw this photo, I thought it was the perfect picture for my upcoming
guest blog on the “Magic Kingdom, Tragic Kingdom” chapter of Richard
Stearns’ book “Unfinished”. In
this chapter, Stearns describes the uncomfortably disturbing but true reality of
two worlds in one—the tragic kingdom, in which 75% of all people on our planet
live on less than $10 per day, and the contrasting Magic Kingdom that most
Americans, all of my friends, and I certainly live in—a world marked by
opportunity, hope, dreams, and choice. As a self-proclaimed Christian, hopefully
a Christian in more than name only, I was somewhat offended by the moniker
Richard Stearns adopted for me and my kind: “Magic Kingdom Christians”. As
Stearns shares, people like me struggle with “first-world” problems such as
where to eat, how to decorate my home, what car to drive, where to work, where
to invest my excess money, and where to vacation. He goes on to say most Magic
Kingdom Christians like me don’t know much about the Tragic Kingdom and go out
of our way to avoid it because this other world is quite unpleasant and quickly
takes us out of our comfort zones. As I read this passage, I mentally tried to
distance myself and my family from “those Magic Kingdom Christians”.
Honestly,
my first reaction to the above photograph was one of indignation, bordering on
what I believed was righteous indignation. How could this SUV owner be so
insensitive? How could he have such hubris to buy a vanity plate proudly
labeling himself as “entitled”?
As
I sat down to write this blog, I was prepared, even eager, to share a litany of
thoughts on how best to effectively bridge the gulf between our Tragic Kingdom
neighbors and our Magic Kingdom church congregations. But, as so often happens
with God, He promptly redirected my thoughts to a famous discourse between Jesus
Christ and Peter in the closing chapter of the Gospel of John:
“So
Peter seeing him (John) said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this
man?”.
Jesus said to Peter, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
(John 21:21-22 NASB)
Jesus said to Peter, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!”
(John 21:21-22 NASB)
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Are not both in need of feeding? I don't really like this comparison between Magic Kingdom Christians and Tragic Kingdom Christians. As if one is superior in terms of need or importance. My problems may be first world problems, but they are still real problems with respect and relativity to my God appointed, God provided situation, whatever that is. So when I get down and depressed about my struggles (real or imagined), or experience dreadful panic and anxiety over my bank statements, or how to complete a challenge at work (where we build things that accomplish nothing in terms of the greater good of humanity). Those are real issues that I have to deal with. Hot water that I must handle. Hot water burns to the point of injury. Boiling hot water also burns to the point of injury. The injury is the same. It's like falling from 50' vs. falling from 10,000' (something we say where I work). The result is ultimately the same. I may not be in boiling hot water but it's hot enough to scald. The forces against the entitled are just as physically and mentally crushing. Just different. You can perish from the stress that comes with entitlement in just the same way another may extinguish from starvation. How can we compare these two situations. They are not comparable. Both the poor man and the rich man are His sheep. Both need to be fed. God cares as much about the man in that SUV as He cares about the man under the bridge. What if you found out that that man in the SUV gives half of his wealth to the poor? In fact, aren't we all so entitled? Have we not been handed these provisions, unmerited by our sinful hearts? Do I deserve all that I have. I don't know. I doubt it. I work hard at it, but all things being equal, I deserve a stronger sentence, and perhaps it's coming, someday, in the eternal sense, that worries me. Perhaps that man in the SUV may need to excercise a bit more humility, but (and I keep coming back to this) shouldn't we acknowledge that whatever he has is the provision of God? Just as what I have is provision from God. I don't feel guilty for living in the Magic Kindgom. I feel blessed. Is that wrong?
ReplyDeleteThis is really sucking up my thoughts today. Diving in deeper. Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you." Matt 26:11. Have the poor been made that way only for us to serve? In Luke 18:40 Jesus heals the blind man. 43, The crowds saw this and praised God. Look at this hard enough, and you might arrive at the fact that this man spent his life struggling as a blind man for the very reason that Jesus would one day show up and heal him and through that, glorify God. It was a big enough story to make a place in the scriptures, no? I'm, sure there was deeper personal meaning throughout the blind man's life long journey (every day and every obstacle in our road has meaning plan and purpose within our upper story), but the ultimate conclusion I see for the reason of his struggle and strife is within this very act. If God wanted the poor to no longer be without, then they would no longer be without tomorrow. Am I insensitive if my compassion doesn't land me in a ghetto in Haiti if I trust after all that I am where I am to serve those I have been called to serve (not necessarily serve every poor soul in the world that I come across or have been made aware of, but the kids in my Scouts that also live in the Magic Kingdom also need to be served, my family needs to be served, others I have served who may be poor by MK standards but wealthy by TK standards... the people in my office, all of these require service.) and the tragically afflicted poor and destitute are where they are simply to receive, and perhaps serve from their platform. I feel like I'm running in circles just considering the two "kingdoms" and why, after all, each one exists. God wants us to serve, perform the good works that He has already prepared for us to do in Him. So I guess he needs to give us opportunities or a subject by which to do them. So God makes a rich man and gives him wealth in abundance, but God makes a poor man under a bridge so that he may reach out his hand. Am I on track?
ReplyDeletePhilippians 4:10-13? Relevant? Anybody? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?
ReplyDeleteThis is clearly a difficult and uncomfortable subject for most of us who would be classified as members of the Magic Kingdom. I'm thrashing around for reasons why I should be allowed to stay in my MK, and why it's not really the MK. "The Contractor" is certainly correct about pretty much everything he's said. And yet, there's no getting around Jesus' words in passages like Matthew 25:31-46, "...whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me...whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for Me."
ReplyDelete"There's no condemnation in Christ" and yet I suspect my main reason for stepping out of my Magic Kingdom (albeit for very brief periods) is guilt. Guilt is a strong motivator but it's a wrong motive. So, putting this all together, I guess my prayer needs to be for Christ to change my heart to be more like His heart. If I have the heart of Christ, then there's simply no debate.
sorry... I didn't mean any anonymity. This is Jan Jeffries. My Google Blogger account that I set up some years ago defaults in this application... Thanks for somebody responding. I think it is great we are actually talking about all of this...
ReplyDeleteI passed the Camden tent city I pass at least once a day today feeling (once again, as always) like I should stop by with sandwiches. Then questioning whether or not it was out of guilt, and then ultimately asking myself if it would do any good. I arrived at no. Probably what would happen is I would bring provisions, and they would probably only feed into some power structure within the camp, giving resources to evil ones. So, I "passed by on the other side" as any Samaritan.
Let's face it, this is true of many of us. We all have opportunities in life to change the living environment of others and pass it by on the other side. I think the true message of the this chapter of unfinished is the heart. Passing by is only an issue if your heart is struggling with it. Let's face it God made America great for a reason and blessed its people. The only question is what I choose to do with His blessings that he has entrusted to me. In my life I have worked side by side with all types of people. Poor and wealthy. Both wanted more and better, some knew how to get there and some did not. The only choice for me is do I want to be a guide, do I want to care for the least of these. But I do not condemn myself for being a guide living in a magic kingdom.
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