Faith and Personal Responsibility
Someone has said, we should pray like it all depends on God and work like it all depends on us. As with all such sayings this view may be somewhat simplistic. None the less, it is a good place to begin when considering the balance of faith and responsibility.
The gift of faith is not just the belief God exists. It is rather the gift of a certainty regarding God’s desire and plans for some situation or course of action. A good example of faith and responsibility can be found in the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire. The story is well told in the recent movie Amazing Grace. The leader of the movement was William Wilberforce. He had the faith to believe slavery was wrong and that God would eventually bring it to an end in England and its territories. However, he took personal responsibility at great cost in health, wealth, and human relationships. As a member of parliament he took every opportunity to promote this just cause over an entire career. In the end faith and responsibility won the day.
As a young assistant pastor I was given the responsibility for the outreach of our congregation to our surrounding inner city neighborhood. One of our members observed an interesting phenomenon. We kept a collection of clothing year round for those who might be in need. It was rarely used. However, once a year the church held a hugely successful rummage sale in which clothing was often in the most demand.
We decided a storefront ministry offering inexpensive clothing would fill this need throughout the year. From the first I had the gift of faith for the success of this venture. While others doubted I watched God provide one thing after another for our success.
We were able to find a storefront just two blocks from the church. It was filled from floor to ceiling with lumber and junk of all kinds. It was filthy, dingy and dark. By faith, I knew this was the place for us. The owner agreed to a reasonable rent and even helped with the clean up. The church council agreed to advance one month’s rent and one month’s utility expenses. There were those who thought we could never break even, let alone succeed in a month.
With lots of hard work on the part of volunteers from our congregation and other churches we cleaned and remodeled, stocked and painted inside and out. Before the first month was over and opened only a few days a week the income from the clothes covered the expenses. The whole project never cost the church a dime. We called the ministry Seek and Find. Many people, volunteers and neighborhood folks alike, came to seek and find. They found clothes to wear and put on Jesus as well.
Faith and personal responsibility worked hand in hand to accomplish God’s purposes. We had faith that what God wanted would come to pass. God had faith that is people would respond with time, talent, and treasure to make it happen.
Click here for more posts.