Deepak Pradhan: The available or smallest resources

Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. Matthew 6:33

“A man had a vision to start a school for underprivileged children in Nepal. On one occasion, this man shared his vision with an American professor, and the professor said to him that he was willing to help him. Next day, the professor went to meet him, and handed him a box, and said, “Here is help for you to start a school.” The man was very happy to receive the box, but his happiness vanished the moment he saw the things inside the box. The box contained pencils, pens, notebooks and some textbooks. The man was not expecting these items from the American, but he was expecting dollars. When the professor saw his disappointment, he said to him, “You need these items to teach them.”

The purpose of this story is not to condemn this particular man, rather to show the transformation of my understanding of God’s providence. This story transformed my understanding and my whole life. When we think of ministry or God’s work, immediately our minds run after bigger things whereas we forget the available or smallest resources at our disposal to glorify God or tools to start a ministry. This had shaped our orphanage. We started with nothing, trusting God as the source when He calls us for ministry. Every day we have experienced His providence throughout ten years. He has been and will be our Provider till His return.”

Deepak Pradhan, student at Torch Trinity Graduate University in his Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper dated 2 July 2017.

Pradhan shared this story in his paper and I had to pass it along. He’s the first student I have ever had who, along with his wife, has run an orphanage for over a decade, so as you can imagine, he had miraculous stories of God’s provision like George Mueller of Bristol, England. At present his wife is back in India caring for 21 orphans while he completes his seminary degree.

After growing in his understanding of biblical stewardship and Christian generosity through the Scriptures in the class, he shared that he plans to champion these biblical truths as a torchbearer in the state of Assam in Northeast India. He wants to inspire others to focus not on the financial resources they don’t have but to faithfully use “the available and smallest resources” they do have for God.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5

“Most Christians are not only influenced by the Bible, but also by the cultural elements and the capitalist social system. In particular, they give priority to the right of individual ownership, which is emphasized by capitalism. However, the concept of stewardship is to govern and manage the mandated wealth appropriately according to the will of the owner…

The material and wealth given by Creator God must be shared with the poor neighbors. The rich are easy to oppress the poor. The rich can act unjustly to accumulate their wealth and neglect to fulfill their responsibilities to their neighbors. Neither the rich nor the poor can escape death and judgment, and at that moment possessed riches are of no value…

Christians should take social responsibility for neighbors by practicing justice with generosity and compassion with the wealth given by God. Therefore, riches are resources for serving others. Christians should not despise or discriminate the poor because it is seen as a crime against God. When accumulating wealth, one should not abuse their authority or wage exploitation of those who are under their influence…

A steward should embrace the life of frugality, generosity, and sufficiency. Paul encouraged Christians to be generous and be satisfied about their wealth. He also warned them by referring to those who have desire for wealth is coveted, and greed is idolatry. Greed makes people to love money by moving people away from God’s love…”

Kwang Lee, economist for The Korea Economic Daily and student at Torch Trinity Graduate University, in his Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship paper dated 2 July 2017. It’s not everyday you have a student who works for the leading financial publication in the nation in which you are teaching. Lee is not only a brilliant economist; he has taken hold of life in God’s economy.

Here he brings out the critical distinction between the Christian and the capitalist. The earthly economic system emphasizes “individual ownership” while God’s design is rooted by “the concept of stewardship” and backed by His love. Through the paper and this course, Lee discerned rightly the role of the steward as “practicing justice with generosity and compassion” and to treat people with fairness rooted in lifestyle of frugality.

For Lee, we are either moving toward greed or toward God. Which way are you moving?

Jenni, Sammy, Sophie and I have arrived safely at Camp Spofford at Spofford Lake, New Hampshire (pictured above) where I will teach eight times over the next six days at Family Camp on “Spiritual Formation for Families” from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. I’d appreciate your prayers for the Holy Spirit to speak through me (and my family members as they will assist me). Pray also for receptive hearts and a refreshing week. Thanks.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

“In the incarnation, God did not send an angel to come to man’s rescue but He came down Himself and provided for man. God expects us to respond personally to the needs of people around us not only teaching and appealing to others to help…In God’s economy, He expects us to share generously our possessions and money in a way that no one among his children will be lacking. The only reason He keeps on giving to us is that we may always have and always give generously…

We must not only give to those we think are worthy to receive our assistance. To do that is to treat the grace and love of God with contempt. Jesus calls us to handle our possessions radically different from the world, to the point of providing for those communities’ men see as unworthy of care. Our good deeds towards people should not be motivated by temporal reciprocity but based on our obedience to God’s order and our desire to follow the example of Christ…

Based on God’s mercy, grace and unconditional love towards us in rescuing us while we were still sinners, we must respond to such a limitless and indescribable gift of God to us by demonstrating a timeless and limitless generosity to all needy, poor and oppressed, starting from our Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the utmost part of the world. Our generosity according to God’s economy must transcend race, nationality, continent based only and only on God’s revealed heart to us about giving, money and possession. We must look beyond the receiver to see Christ’s love for us.”

Nuekpe Dieudonne Komla, student at Torch Trinity Graduate University, in his Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper dated 2 July 2017. Grading these papers blessed me so much! Komla pastors in Ghana and plans to implement what he learned in 2018 so that he can give testimony to other churches and wants to invite me to teach his whole denomination in West Africa in 2019. Make it so, Lord Jesus.

Komla makes many great points in his paper, but two are noteworthy. The incarnation of Christ models for each of us the posture of our generosity. In God’s economy, we are His hands and feed to “respond personally” to the needs of people in need. Simultaneously, we must joyfully bless others with all God supplies because of God’s limitless love for us. To do this we must “look beyond the receiver” as Komla notes, to the matchless love of Christ for us, whose great love motivated Him to empty Himself for us.

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

“We run our life schedules and aspirations around acquiring wealth…We continue to look to money to sustain us…In the garden, man and woman crossed a boundary line that God had given because their hearts set upon more than God had provided for them, believing that he would withhold some good things. This desire for acquisition has plagued us ever since…Sin has caused a great imbalance, where the constant dissatisfaction of the flesh causes those who have to amass more wealth for themselves, while those that have not remain in need…

How then do we serve God and not money? What do we still have to learn to make this a reality? By looking through the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the life of the early church [in the rest of the New Testament] the message of God is clear. I am your Provider; I will bless you so that you can be a blessing to others, so take care of those around you who have little with the abundance you have; imitate my Son in order to reveal my love, and in so doing store up for yourselves treasure in heaven…

We do not give tithes or offerings to the Lord to profess our allegiance to Him. Nor do we give dues to show that we are part of the Christian “guild.” Rather, we give out of gratitude and love because Christ has already paid our dues to be members of his body and sons in the family of God. We give out of an overflow of His love, to share and demonstrate the same love to others.”

Emily Tregelles, student at Torch Trinity Graduate University, in her Philosophy of Biblical Stewardship Paper dated 2 July 2017. Over the next few days I plan to share excerpts from my students’ papers. They blessed me and I pray they are a blessing to you too. And these thoughts are fitting for me and my family today as we fly to New York City, a place where the love of money is evident in so many ways.

What strikes you in reading Emily’s thoughts? Or perhaps more pointedly, what motivates your giving? And what measure do you use? She passionately believes that you and I are the answer to the great imbalance in the world, between those with plenty and those in need. We get to bless others with all Christ has given us motivated by love. And we no longer measure it out by percentage like we are paying dues, for as she keenly notes, “Christ has already paid our dues” for us. As we are blessed we get to bless others in proportion.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17

“Do you see how God’s generosity is described here? It says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift” that is given to us is from “the Father of lights.” Our Father is the provider of gifts to His children. And His gifts are “good” and “perfect.” God the Father’s gifs are “good” because they are also what are best for us. And they are also “perfect” because God knows us perfectly. God the Father is never stingy, never holds back, but is incredibly generous. His gifts are always “good” and “perfect.”

If we began to number God’s gifts to us, we would end up with a pretty lengthy list. Every breath you breathe is a “good” and “perfect” gift from God. Every day you have life is also a gift. Even each second of the day is a gift from your Father. The people in your life are God’s gift to you to help you through life. You can look around you and just about everything you find is a gift from God…The reason He gives you these gifts is because He’s your Father and He is generous.”

Joel Bruce in Our Generous God: Discover God’s Generosity to You in Christ (Bloomington: Westbow, 2011) 61.

I am safely home and profoundly thankful for many “good” and “perfect” gifts from God. To name a few, I am thankful for the gift of life as I learned a woman in our church died of cancer while I have been teaching in South Korea. Every day of life is a “good” and “perfect” gift of God.

I am thankful for the gift of sleep. I slept seven hours on my flight over the Pacific. I have never slept seven hours on a flight! The stewardess had to wake me up. Of course, then when went to bed after I got home, I only slept about four hours and woke up wide awake, at 2:30am. God help me adjust.

I am thankful for the gift of grace, which in biblical terms is unmerited kindness. I emptied myself in service to my students on 8 days of teaching and in preaching 6 times and returned home enriched with joy and enthusiasm because of the love, prayers, and hospitality I received.

I am thankful for my gift of family. Jenni and I along with Sammy, Sophie fly to the East Coast tomorrow to spend the week at Camp Spofford in New Hampshire. I will give eight lessons on spiritual formation for families based on Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and ask them to help me with illustrations from our own journey.

I named a few things. What “good” and “perfect” gifts are you thankful for today? Share a short list with someone or take turns sharing whatever comes to mind.

But since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you — see that you also excel in this grace of giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7

“As you consider where your congregation is today and where you want to be with stewardship and generosity in the future, I suggest you identify the three or four key teachings you would like everyone to know and practice. Each year assess the impact of your efforts from the previous year, and determine what outcomes you would like to see in the year ahead.”

Keith A. Mundy in “How An Annual Stewardship Emphasis Can Strengthen Generosity In Your Congregation” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, vol. 19 (Richmond: ESC, 2017) 14-15.

Today’s my last day of class and then I make the long journey home from Seoul to Denver later this afternoon. Each one of my students plans to do their project on growing generosity related to a church setting, so this is one of many points I plan to make on my last day. I will miss them so much. I love these students from South Korea, India, Ghana, Pakistan and USA.

I am confident that each one grasps a biblical understanding of what it means to be a faithful and generous steward. By God’s direction they will discern what biblical truths to sow in the hearts of those they serve in the coming year. What about you? Are you responsible for stewardship efforts in your congregation? What teachings will you sow in your church this year?

Let’s say God leads you to teach your church about these four items this year: contentment, sharing with the poor, service, and missional outreach. I remind my students, that the best first step is to ask God to teach you and your church overseers about these areas so that your lives match whatever you are teaching and so you can pray together for growth in your congregation.

The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. Rather, He himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from any one of us. ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’ Acts 14:24-28

“Like all of creation, human beings are made to desire God, on whom we depend for life, meaning, and direction. If we are oriented primarily toward the glory of God, then we, like a mirror, bear the image of God. We may certainly love, appreciate, and even desire and depend on other creatures, but we do so because we recognize that they belong to God. Because our desire is directed primarily toward God, our religious affections have a kind of coherence and wholeness. All of our other desires are organized around our central desire for God. All of our other relative dependencies point to our ultimate dependence on God.

Properly ordered desire for and sense of dependence on God organize the affections, thereby giving us a stable center of personality that can hold in harmony all of our other relationships. Well-ordered affections allow us to maintain the boundaries that preserve the integrity of our identities, even as we enter into relationships with others. Depending on God allows us to rely on others without being subordinated to them. Desiring God allows us to long for others without losing ourselves in them. Longing for and relying on God, in fact, always move us into appropriate relationships with other creatures.”

Kendra G. Hotz and Matthew T. Mathews in Shaping the Christian Life: Worship and the Religious Affections (Louisville: WJKP, 2006) 35.

What does dependence on God have to do with generosity? And how do well-ordered affections shape how we live our lives? God made each and every one of us to depend on Him and have relationships with other people that reflect His image and glory. The operating system for those relationships positions God as Provider and people as faithful stewards. When we choose instead to depend on ourselves, by default we make the the decision to rely on the leading competitor to God in our lives, which is money. Consequently, we switch to loving money and using people to accomplish our purposes.

To hold onto money for ourselves when God’s design is for us to serve as conduits of blessing reflects disordered affections and adversely impacts our capacity to love God, to have coherent relationships, and to interface with anything in the created order. Why think about this today? In plain terms, today is a holiday in the USA that originally celebrated independence or freedom from oppression. For many, God has been supplanted as the source of our dependence. Many in the USA have become slaves to money, which has caused faith, relationships and much of life in society to unravel.

What can we do about it? Rather than focus on the macro issues, we must live life faithfully on the grass roots level. We must make God our central desire, faithfully steward all God provides in love and service others, and experience the joy of generous living following God’s design. And we must order our affections in the way regardless of what everyone else is doing! In short, let’s live in such a way that our lives declare our ultimate dependence upon God.

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:11-12

“Happiness is determined by external factors. As a result, happiness is one of the shallowest, most fleeting, fleshy emotions a human can experience. For someone to be “happy” something has “to happen.” When my investment portfolio increases, I feel happy. When my flight departs on time, I feel happy. When my favorite soccer team wins, I feel happy. But how do I feel when the opposite happens, as it invariably does? Fearful? Stressed? Insecure? Miserable?

Welcome to life’s emotional roller coaster, full of temporary happy “ups” and anxiety-producing “downs,” fear-inducing twists and terrifying turns. This is precisely where most people are living—because they’re fixated on striving to feel happy. Contentment is not dependent on happiness.

So, what is the secret to a “happy” life that isn’t dependent on circumstances? It’s contentment. Paul shares the secret in Philippians 4:11-12. Paul learned to be content regardless of his circumstances. That’s quite an accomplishment. Take a moment and ask yourself, “Do I know anyone who always seems content?”

Paul found contentment through his relationship with Jesus. No matter what happened around him—imprisonment, threats to his life, poverty — he knew Jesus was with him. Paul trusted Jesus. This produced a deep joy, a contentment that not only flowed from the inside out, but swamped whatever negative external factors Paul faced…

Like Paul, I’ve learned that abiding joy flows from my relationship with Jesus, where I listen to what he tells me to do and then I do it in obedience. No matter the circumstances, God can grant us joy.”

Gisle Sorli in “Happiness Is Not the Goal: Contentment Is” in Institute for Faith, Work, and Economics blog post dated 27 June 2017.

Last week I bumped into the chairperson of Torch Trinity on campus. She asked me how my class was going. Of course I told her how much I love their passion for God. Then she asked what hotel I was staying in (I think she wanted to be sure I was receiving good hospitality). I replied that I was in one of the visiting professor guest rooms (they are humble but very adequate). She insisted I consider a hotel.

I told her that it gives me an opportunity to model contentment for my students. And then, with wit that exceeded my normal speed, I added, “Best part: there’s no traffic!” She laughed. It takes me only two minutes to walk from my guest room on the third floor to class room on the second floor. It can take 30 minutes to go two miles in the Gangnam region of Seoul. Think: NYC.

What about you? Do you know anyone who always seems content? What would people say about you? I am learning, with Sorli, that the secret is found in Jesus. Only when we grasp that we have everything we have ever needed and will ever need in our relationship with Jesus, do we have joy that transcends circumstances. And this joy-filled contentment is the bedrock of a generous life.

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luke 6:35

“We all intrinsically know that God can provide what we need and that He loves us the same whether we’re rich or poor. But then why do we often label the rich with the misnomer blessed and, practically, don’t expect the poor to be generous? I would like to suggest that we all just take a collective deep breath and courageously strive to live at rest with God. Generosity includes giving to and receiving from God as we understand our place as trusting conduits of His supply…

God’s rest does not mean that we get everything we want when we want it. It means that our reliance on God becomes personal. We sit with Him and let Him know that we love Him and trust Him in order to be an accepting conduit of whatever He gives us to supply the ministry that he has planned for our lives. He knows what we need and often wants us to ask. Our rest, God’s rest, is contentment in our relationship with Him.”

Barbara Shantz in “Learning to Live at Rest with God” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, vol. 19 (Richmond: ESC, 2017) 10-11.

Today I am privileged to preach twice at a church in Seoul this morning and once in a church in Anyang this afternoon on the same text I preached on last Sunday, Luke 6:27-36. The message of this text is summed up in today’s Scripture verse, and as my friend, Barbara Shantz rightly notes, we cannot do what Jesus asks of us unless we enter His rest and serve as trusting conduits.

Only when we are content in our relationship with God, can we give and receive His supply freely and in so doing be described as children of the Most High. If we are not at rest in our giving, we often go to one extreme or another. We either give and try to control people with our giving by expecting something back, or we refuse to give because we judge them as undeserving, ungrateful, or perhaps even wicked.

The profound idea at play here is that the rich and poor can only be generous and openhanded when their hearts are at rest and content with the provision of God. My students this week are realizing that God cares less about what we give and more about what we hold back and what that says about the state of our hearts. How’s your heart? Are you a trusting conduit at rest with God?

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: “Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:4-7

“To desire more than we possess is a timeless human struggle. Whether a desire to possess someone else’s good looks, a house in the best neighborhood…humans swing with the pendulum from desire to contentment. We know this about ourselves. And yet, here we find ourselves in the twenty-first century with the same old longings and leanings. At our fingertips are myriad methods for practicing gratitude, mindfulness, and apps that coach us to embrace the moment. Whether modern or ancient, we humans lose our focus…

Our proclivity to become anxious and wander from a centered place is at the heart of Jeremiah’s words: “Plant gardens and eat what they produce…Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” When we are focused on the gifts of the present moment directly before us, everything changes. Hidden homes become gathering places for kingdom-style banquets. The ordinary becomes a miracle. And life becomes life in the fullness of God.”

Elizabeth Mangham Lott in “Gifts of the Present” in Giving: Growing Joyful Stewards in Your Congregation, vol. 19 (Richmond: ESC, 2017) 9.

We all wrestle with desire and contentment. Notice the solution. Enjoy each day as a gift from God in community. Plant gardens, eat produce. Live, give, serve, and love people where God plants you. When we get off track and wander from a centered place of gratitude, we get into trouble. Is it time to pause, make a list of God’s gifts, and give thanks as a basis for living a more generous life? 

Sometimes when we get too off track as a group, we need to make drastic collective changes. In church history, this appears as a call for reformation. Today I am preaching at the 6:10 am service at Sarang Church, then have an important CCFK meeting, then Kurios International is hosting a Reformation Forum as 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.

My brother and I are two of the five forum speakers. As Martin Luther was a university professor, my brother, Dr. David Hoag, President of Warner University, will share five ways universities shape life in the church and society. My talk relates to the Reformation and money. Reply if you’d like a copy of my remarks in PDF form. And please pray for us, as it will be a full day. Thank you.