“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.” 1 Corinthians 16:1 ESV
Reflection: who are you “giving” your money to?
Things have gotten very expensive. And I don’t think this is only for some specific areas. We walked around looking at food trucks yesterday, and perhaps the most ridiculous pricing I saw was $14 for a few fried potatoes. Fourteen dollars! Ok, they did have somewhat of a captive audience, so they could pretty much name their price. But still, even with these prices, the lines were very long. People didn’t seem to question that this was close to highway robbery. And this price increase is not just special occasions; food in general has become a lot bigger part of our budgets. But, let me ask you, what is your criteria for deciding how you spend your money? Is it brand? Price? Convenience? Or, do you consider the people behind the product? For instance, are you willing to spend a little more for certain fresh food items to keep a local farmer in business?
With the convenience of our phones, many shop just about everything via the phone. Groceries, clothing, furnishings, travel, or whatever; and of course using digital money to pay. Just a couple of simple clicks, and we have purchased a whole living room, without ever seeing it, talking to anyone, or even knowing anything about what we are purchasing. But, you might argue, we can read the reviews and even see videos of people that have already purchased this. Question is, how do you know all of that is not just made up? It is actually very easy to do. The truth is that we are trusting a company, a system which is telling us something without ever talking to real people. We are slowly losing the touch of people. Of each other, including where we should be spending our money to support each other.
Paul opens chapter 16 with a message that might seem attractive to pastors and church leaders. About collections. But when we look a bit closer here, we see that there is a very specific purpose for this collection. Paul specifically is asking the church to help “the saints” in Judea, as he did to many other churches around the region. Why? Let’s look at a couple other verses. “Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.” Galatians 2:1, 10 ESV. You can read 2:1-10 if you have time. But the apostles and the Christians in Judea were poor, possibly because they had been ostracized by the society. You can image the Pharisees, and the leaders of the synagogue informing the people not to purchase anything, not to even associate with people who followed Christ. And in those days, people were very dependent on each other in the community. So Paul told the other churches that they needed to support the “saints”, meaning the poor Christians, in Judea. This was not a call for just blindly sending money. It was to help sustain life for those who could not by themselves due to things like persecution. A personal gift from saints in one area, to those in need in another area. So what is the message here for us today?
Over the past couple of years we saw many companies who tried to get very political, with products and messaging. And finally consumers spoke with their money and just stopped buying from them. They got the message, and changed course. But I think this speaks to each of us, followers of Christ, that we need to be much more conscious about what and where we spend our money. What products we buy, but also where our gifts go. Are they really going to help the poor; starting with fellow saints, followers of Jesus Christ? Perhaps today, go to a farmer’s market. Talk with a farmer, a producer of whatever you want to buy. Connect with them. If you find someone who is a follower of Christ, support them financially by buying from them.
And understand what your collection is being used for. Instead of giving more to an already rich church community, perhaps direct some of it to helping poor saints somewhere. But, as Paul encouraged the Corinthians to do, to make it specific and personal. From one saint to another that is in desperate need of help.