The Greatest Need[1]
What is the greatest need of people in your area? Your answer might depend on where you live.
Germantown/Shelby Park: Safety, racism, physical health, unemployment, slumlords, fatherless youth.
East End/ St. Matthews: behind the nice homes are people facing loneliness, domestic violence, emptiness, and household debt.
Ethiopia: clean water, proper sanitation, health care, housing, education, and regular income.
We might well agree with these needs. But the Bible opens our eyes to a much broader horizon. It reveals that people have a need much greater than any mentioned above and of which we are largely unaware – the need to be reconciled to God and so escape his wrath.
The Priority of the Future
As we reflect on social need and social involvement with our neighbors (deed ministry), the place to start is the end. We must begin by considering the end of history. The Bible is a story that is heading towards a climax when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.
If this is true, then blessing in God’s future is more important than blessing in this life. Jesus himself tells us this when he said,
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” – Matthew 6:19-20
“If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have tow hands or two feed and be thrown into the fire of hell.” – Matthew 18:8-9
In the same way, we need to say without embarrassment that it is better if someone is converted but remains poor than if they become healthy and wealthy but remain unconverted.
The Bible consistently says we should make the eternal future our priority.
“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” – Matthew 10:28
The issue is NOT whether the soul is more important than the body. Jesus says we should be concerned for both soul and body. The issue is that our eternal fate is more important than what happens to us in this life.
Do you believe this?
[1] Adapted from Good News to the Poor: Sharing the Gospel through Social Involvement, Tim Chester, 50-58.
