Where do I withhold?

At Jr. High Camp I got to give 2 messages. The impact of these 2 messages went far beyond what I could have hoped and dreamed. And that was just for me. I have gotten lots of feedback that many others were impacted as well which is an enormous honor.

The second message was about community. The idea that part of Moving to Jesus, which was our theme, is moving in community. It was a fun message because it used the narrative of Ananias and Saphira which is not your normal text to preach from. The story if you don't know or forgot is from Acts 5. The first church is an amazing story and a place where people gave in amazingly generous ways. Some people had houses or lands and they sold them and laid the money at the apostles feet to be distributed to those who had need. After the story of Joseph who was one such person we meet Ananias and Saphira who also sold a field but they withheld from their community by keeping a portion for themselves but saying it was all. The story is unique in that the outcome is they die instantly which wasn't your normal New Testament God story. It is also seemingly harsh since they gave most of the money so it's easy to say yikes what's the big deal. The story is about withholding. Not money. I enjoyed unpacking the idea of how we withhold from our community when we keep parts of who we are and what we have for ourselves. True genuine community deserves the best that we are, all our gifts and talents.

So all of this is fresh in my mind as I have been riding the wave of the success of camp. More details of this will follow when I am able to share but again it is at the forefront of my mind certainly. And as I process all of this I am reading an interesting book given to me called Sex and the Soul. It is about life on college campuses and students quest to reconcile the promiscuous atmosphere with their spiritual or religious views. I am not very far along but as I read through the interviews with students it is mind-blowing how there is such a disconnect for most young people between their religious, spiritual, moral beliefs and their sex lives. As I read this I am struck by a couple of other circumstances I encountered this week where people in my lives who have been moved by Jesus and have a relationship with Him struggle to reconcile that with various aspects of their lives - relationally, monetarily, professionally - whatever. It started me thinking where do I withhold? What aspects of my life do I seem to have this inexplicable disconnect of my faith? I know I have made tremendous steps in applying my faith to more areas of my life this year but what else have I not brought under the Lordship of Jesus Christ? For many students I work with they struggle with this duality that causes them to be one way around certain friends where they can talk about their faith and what Jesus means to them but then with other groups they act totally different. The subtlety when you are in it is so easy to accept but from the outside it is as glaring as some of the stories I read about in this book where college students don't even consider their faith and their sex lives connected.

I know for a lot of people money is the area they withhold. They are committed Christ-followers who believe in the mission of the local church. They give of their time and do give money but to really say that their money is actually God's and looking to honor Him with it instead of considering it their own is totally foreign. I was that way for a long time. I gave but because I should or I was afraid I would jinx myself and God would punish me. Giving up "my" money was so hard. I withheld a lot.

I am a big fan of t-shirts. My wife likes to point this out regularly that I have more t-shirts than the rest of family has clothes. They are comfortable and if they are funny then all the better. I will admit there are some that I do have to be selective of where I wear them. I am not sure that beer slogans or sexual innuendo are appreciated at StuCo. So I choose where and when I can wear them. Some I enjoy but truthfully will never see the light of day. The ones I know people like or laugh at I tend to wear more often. And of course the ones that flatter my less than muscular physique probable get the most action. For too long I have treated my faith like a t-shirt. I choose who to wear it around or when I like to have it on. I take it on and off and exchange it when I don't feel like wearing it. I want it to be popular and make me look good. I am withholding from my community when I say that my faith does not permeate every part of me and every aspect of my life. I can't help it. When will I learn it's not a t-shirt - it's my freakin skin. It is me and how can I give every part of me to this community.

When I do I am the most powerful force on the planet!