Rethinking America: Church is the original social safety net
Read More Looking Up
Read More Upward Glances
Tragedy struck a family in my church.
The father, husband and primary breadwinner nearly died. He was in the ICU.
I walked into the room to see the face of a wife who loves her husband desperately, a mother concerned about what to tell her children, and a woman whose life was falling apart, who didn’t know if she’d be able to make ends meet.
I genuinely do not know what happens to other families when this sort of thing happens to them, but let me tell you what happens to our families in the church.
It all happened on a Friday. I visited his hospital room on Saturday. On Sunday, we announced in the main morning service, “One of our own needs help. If you want to contribute, mark it on your gift in the offering, and we’ll make sure it gets to them.”
On Monday, there was hope. The bills would get paid. We collected more for the family that week than for our general fund. I say good. That’s how the church SHOULD work
I am convinced the Church - not any one particular branch or local gathering, but the invisible organization which all people who believe in Jesus comprise - is supposed to be the primary means by which humans experience God’s grace, blessing and support.
When people are in need, the Church should be the organization depend on to meet the need.
Not the government.
The first couple chapters of the book of Acts paint a picture of a social safety net the church provided when it began. Acts 4:32-35 says, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles' feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.”
Nobody in the church suffered from material want because the church took care of its own people. The effect was important. This church-based social safety net is a big reason why the book of Acts specifically comments on the constantly increasing size of the church in Jerusalem.
Did you notice the part of the passage above where it said, “with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus?” (Acts 4:33) The preaching of the gospel was more effective because the church took care of its own people.
A family to belong to - a family that will take care for you because you share Jesus’ blood in common - is a very attractive reason to trust Jesus. Jesus promised to not just give life, but give it in such a way, “that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10b)
But belonging to a family has a cost. The same way I am 100 percent sure that my church family would do anything to help me and my house, I will do anything to help any member of my church family too. It’s a two-way street.
Government welfare does not have the same expectation. As bureaucratically tedious as welfare might be, it’s still easier to apply for that than it is to join a new community and form new relationships with people whose only common trait is Jesus. Signing a form is easier than radically shifting your life’s loyalties.
In a world where the government owns the social safety net, the church misses the chance to say, “Trust in Jesus to join our family. We have something special because of Jesus. We take care of each other amazingly because of Jesus.” The church should be offering the same thing Jesus did: eternal life and abundant temporal life.
There is little we can do about the welfare our government offers. But we do have influence in our local churches. Where we cannot change the government system, we can at least compete. And some churches do, but we can do a lot better. Are there any suffering in your church?
Are there any who you know, or suspect, are struggling to make ends meet every month? Instead of wondering and judging from the other side of the sanctuary, go find out how to help. Gather other church members in the cause. Sell something if you need to. Let’s take care of our own so well that people want to join the family.