'To Whom Much is Given, Much Is Expected'
RE: The $43.6 Million Tear-down
Recently an article in the newspaper left me with mixed thoughts - someone bought a $43.6 million, 6,000 square-foot oceanfront estate on 6.5 sandy acres in Sagaponack, Long Island for the purpose of tearing it down and building a much, much larger home.
Mixed thoughts because it's his money, and he can do whatever he wants with it. This is America, land of freedom. I don't want to get into the business of judging him - who knows what he has done with his money? Perhaps he has given hundreds of millions of dollars to charities to help improve the lives of others, and this is the one extravagance that he has reserved for himself.
But on the other hand.... when is enough, enough? When do we say that with wealth comes responsibility? When do we remind one-another that God did not put us on this earth to see how many toys we could collect? When do we say enough "bling," enough excess, enough
"over-the-top"? When do we say "to whom much is given, much is expected"?
And if the church does not say it, who will?
That's what I think; what do you think about a culture with a widening chasm between the super rich and the super poor?
In faith,
Pastor Tim
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"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion...
Woe to those who lie upon beds of ivory,
and stretch themselves upon their couches
and eat lambs from the flock,
and calves from the midst of the stall,
who drink wine in bowls and anoint themselves with the finest oils, But are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!"
Amos 6
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Kathy Broyard, Statewide Coordinator of the Florida Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Network (FLAPDAN) reports the following:
A second disaster threatens to overtake Joplin, MO by way of a tidal wave of unsolicited goods (things like clothing, miscellaneous household items, mixed or perishable foodstuffs, diapers...) and volunteers who just show up to help. Critical resources are being redirected from the important work of response and relief to managing what has become a crush of unneeded donated items. Social networking sites are promoting collection drives while radio stations, small and large businesses, business and fraternal organizations and churches around the country fill semis with items that threaten to crowd warehouses and overwhelm distribution channels in the impacted area.
Your help is urgently needed to stem the flow of unneeded goods and volunteers into Joplin.
You are encouraged to reach out to your employees, customers and other constituents on how those wanting to help can do so in a way that doesn't cause further impact, but rather aids in the response and recovery effort.
Cash to a recognized voluntary agency is the single best way to help disaster survivors. Cash doesn't need to be sorted, stored or distributed, and it allows the voluntary agency to the donation towards the needs that most urgently need addressing.
You may contribute to this disaster by marking your checks PDA (Presbyterian Disaster Relief).
Thank you.
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