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Financial crisis, the gospel, worship, and pride

From Douglas Wilson: We are in the presence of God to worship Him. We are gathering in the name of Jesus, and we are doing so as His people. We belong to Him, and, because of this, we belong to one another.

Although we are ascending into the heavenly places in our worship, by the power of the Spirit, this does not detach our worship service from earthly and political relevance. In fact, it does exactly the opposite. We are being equipped here to do what God calls us to do in the course of our lives.

We are living in the middle of a very significant financial crisis, and we are doing so when almost everyone is demanding that the false savior of the state deliver us from the peril. But the disaster is happening because God is not mocked, and nations as well as men reap what they sow. In addition, repentance for financial idolatry does not consist of even more financial idolatry.

Our response is to be that of loving one another, and doing so in true community. We sometimes think this is limited to the duty of giving to those in need—that is obviously central, but it is not the only thing. If you are in distress because of the economy, you have a Christian obligation to not hide that fact from your brothers and sisters. If one part of the body hurts, it does not have the option of hiding that hurt from the rest of the body. Of course, you take care of your household first, and family members are next in line if you cannot do that. The members of the church ought not to be holding bake sales so that you are not forced to sell off your second yacht. But if your income has been cut in half, and you are struggling to meet your basic obligations, and your family has helped all it can, this ought not to be hidden from your friends and brothers.

Loving one another in these circumstances will begin with us being fully honest with one another.

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