Ron Sider, author of Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger died this week.
In reading about his death, I was reminded of the impact his book had on me when I read it in the ’70s and how I have become a coward in sharing what I believe in this area. The news of his death was a timely challenge to me because of a situation that happened last night at a church potluck dinner.
What happened is that I found myself reacting strongly (silently) to a comment about someone who had significant money spending it on themselves.
“They made the money, they deserve to do whatever they want,” was the comment of the person seated next to me. Though as I said, I had a strong emotional reaction to what she said, I changed the subject and started babbling about something else.
I thought about it later and realized it was an episode of moral cowardice where I didn’t have the energy to say what I was really thinking and to say it calmly and discuss it thoughtfully.Continue Reading
In our previous lesson on the Prophet Micah we talked about what God requires of us and His requirements are summarized in Micah 6:8 which tells us we are to “Do justice, Love mercy, and Walk humbly with our God.”
What does God want us to do, and how are we supposed to live in a way that is pleasing to Him? Is it for us to do big, extravagant actions to demonstrate our faith?
Though it sounds complex, the topic of this lesson has important and practical implications for how you live day-to-day.
Why do you think God has you go through hard times?