If anyone ever needed an excuse not to be a generous financial supporter of their church, the front page of last month’s Southern Cross may have inadvertently provided that. Most unfortunate were, firstly, the way the story did not do justice to our relative wealth, and secondly, the title – especially when the opposite is true. We can afford church!
It is remarkable that we could ever think that God has failed us materially, or that we are somehow doing it tough as a nation in the 21st century.
The problem of funding ministries is not the cost of living. The problem is materialism. When everyone covets, market forces mean prices will rise. Sure, it costs more today to provide for a family than it did yesterday, but we are now richer than we have ever been.
I know we can always find exceptions, but in the last 20 years the average income per person has risen (in real terms, allowing for inflation) by 54.5 per cent. Why, then, if we have more money, do we tend to be short on cash? Because we have a much larger variety of toys to buy! Ross Gittins remarked in the SMH (4 June), “We’ve spent the past 20 years trying to think of ways to spend all the surplus income that’s come our way.”
In our culture, it’s hard to be content with what you have. I tend not to be content, even though I am so materially well off, if someone else has a newer and better toy. Even though our lifestyles are better than what most kings have enjoyed throughout history, we tend not to be happy unless we have at least as much as our neighbour. Discontent generally comes not from scarcity, but when others are doing materially better.
Our sinful, coveting nature tempts us to focus on the things we desire yet cannot afford, rather than rejoicing in the comforts we have afforded. That’s why some people believe we can’t afford church.
Yet God says, ‘Do not covet’.
Where has all that extra cash gone? Gittins’ list includes bigger and better houses (almost doubled in size in the last 50 years), more cars per household, more electricity-consuming gadgets, private schools, pets, and leisure, dining and entertainment.
He concludes his column with a pointed analysis of the problem: “We’re hooked on the false promise of materialism – the next dollar we spend will be the one that finally makes us happy – and because, as herd animals, we’re possessed by the need to fit in and, if possible, get to the front of the herd.”
The diocesan Mission requires people who love Jesus to give of their wealth to finance an explosive work of God, in order to see a massive sea of people rescued from hell into the bliss and sanctuary of heaven.
The choice is, do I buy that new toy with all the options, or do I give those funds to pay for more ministry? Do I value that DVD player more than another soul potentially enjoying eternity in heaven? Can I do without that wide screen digital TV so that $10,000 can go to Youthworks to help finance a worker who will equip someone else to introduce a child to Jesus? Is expanding the facilities at Moore College more important than spending all my money on a six-month backpacking trip in Europe? Should I help my church pay for an assistant minister or should I buy another investment unit? These are all real choices for many Anglicans.
Am I saying we cannot enjoy DVDs, private schools, property investments and overseas holidays? Certainly not! But the fact that many Anglicans (not all, I know) can afford such God-given luxuries means we can choose to forgo them in order to not only afford church, but ministry expansion as well.
What will you choose?
The Rev Zac Veron is rector of St. James’, Carlton
