My friend was trying to be helpful, so I didn't say anything to that at the time. What I thought, however, was this:
Uh, yeah He does.
Like the mythical verse about "God helping those who help themselves", the whole "God doesn't give you more than you can handle" thing is completely made up. Moreover, both those statements are dangerous because the truth is the exact opposite!
God does give you more than you can handle. He does so so that we can look back on the situation and know with certainty that God was the One who did it - not ourselves. This is especially important in the realm of fundraising: if you enter into fundraising thinking you can handle it, you're going to either crash and burn quickly, or worse yet, have a ministry that looks stunningly similar to that of the Pharisees.
I just read the story of David and Goliath to my 3-year old a few nights ago. As he looked at the picture of the young shepherd standing over the body of the giant, he asked, "Daddy, how come that little rock knock down that biiiiig guy?" I was delighted - that's the exact question God intends us to ask! God had very clearly given David (and all Israel) more than he could handle. How could a few rocks take down an enormous, armor-plated warrior? The answer, of course, is that they couldn't. But God could. And He did.
Indeed, one of the greatest truths of the Bible is that God gives us more than we can handle. This causes us to remain humbly dependent on the One on whom we were meant to be humbly dependent. (A parallel truth is that God doesn't help those who help themselves... He helps those who can't help themselves!) The world calls this foolishness or even slavery. Christians know, however, that there is nothing wiser or more freeing than fulfilling our created purpose: to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.
Excellent Tom.....very well put and fits us all, not just those fundraising.
ReplyDeleteMost people espousing this advice, in my experience, are looking at 1 Cor. 10:13 as the scriptural support for the statement. But you really need to look at this verse in context, as it doesn't really support that position.
ReplyDeleteDo you have any suggestions about good ways to respond to this statement (other than not responding to it externally as you did, which could in many cases be a wise response)? When I've tried to address people who are saying this (it hasn't happened a lot), I don't recall them being very receptive to being corrected about this not being true. But maybe that speaks more to how much I need to learn about how to offer correction in a helpful way.
Yes, I agree! That saying is often an unfortunate misinterpretation of 1 Cor 10:13.
DeleteThat's an excellent question about how to offer suggestions. I might broaden the context a bit to suggest that there are many cases in which someone is misinterpreting Scripture and we may be able to offer correction. Let me therefore offer these thoughts:
First, what do you know of their character? Are they humble and open to correction? If the answer is no, your words may fall on deaf ears. With such people, I usually ask myself what their biggest need is (usually it's something like, "Better understand the gospel"), and I'd prioritize that topic before offering instruction on the finer points of Biblical hermeneutics =)
Next, I'd assume a posture of humility myself. I might say, "I appreciate what you just shared; it's different than what I'd understood. Could you say more?" This has several effects: a) I may learn that I myself have been wrong! b) It may be that I've simply misunderstood them and they can now clarify. c) It provides an opportunity to open the Scripture together to better our mutual understanding of the verse/topic at hand. d) It helps the other to not become defensive, since I'm seeking to learn from them rather than attacking.
Finally, don't assume you need to figure it all out in that one conversation. There is much to be said for going your separate ways without reaching full agreement, studying and praying over things more, and following up on the conversation later. In the relatively rare times that people have done this with me, I felt very cared for and my opinion of their wisdom only increased - and this was true even before I was a Christian.
What do you think? Would you add to or change anything I've suggested?