There was a day not so long ago when correspondents of assemblies knew exactly what to do with letters from workers that even hinted at asking for money. With a practiced flick of the wrist, they sent such “begging letters” on a journey that would join other rejected materials at the local landfill site. Such pleas were considered to be more than matters of poor taste; they were thought to be an affront to God, an expression of distrust, a kind of mild atheism that doubted the faithful provision of Heaven. Like a recent billboard advertisement for a well-known charity, “We depend on you,” such pleading was seen to be the talk of beggars, not that of children who have a rich and caring Father.
All that has changed. Little by little, these sensitivities have been assaulted. Hints in such letters turned to blatant, shameless requests for everything under the sun: money, workers, money, vehicles, money, office equipment, money, building supplies–the list was endless. Reading some of these epistles was like listening to spoiled children on Santa’s knee before Christmas. Recently I saw a letter from one missionary in which almost every paragraph of a long two-page shopping list asked specifically for something. And this by a professed follower of the One who said, “If I were hungry, I would not tell thee”!
Now it seems that the response of assembly Christians has swung completely around. If someone writes about the faithfulness of God, of His goodness and daily care, many believers react: “Obviously they don’t need anything.” But if someone hints at, or even states amounts of money desired, assembly Christians now reach for their checkbooks, sending money sometimes to “workers” who have turned fund-raising into an art form.
Thus, by their giving, such stewards of the Lord’s money discourage those who would simply look to the Lord for their support and encourage those who seem to have taken things into their own hands. I personally know of several supposed assembly ministries who have pled for help while having hundreds of thousands of excess dollars on deposit in the bank. Are all those who plead for money flush with funds? Probably not. But such examples ought to keep us from being naive in our giving.
My Bible says that if you are not faithful in that which is least, you will not be faithful in that which is greater. In speaking of the “least,” our Lord was speaking about money. Could we not then infer that if a man or ministry is not willing to trust God regarding their money, they may well not be trusting Him in other areas of their work, either?
I have been deeply saddened to hear that a missionary couple are being forced home from the field due to a lack of financial resources. To my mind, they are probably the most effective workers in that country, and encouragers and supporters of other good works there. They have been frugal, hard-working, and God has blessed their ministry. They do not send out monthly “prayer letters” with self-addressed envelopes so you can include your “prayers” by return mail.
Now I know God is sovereign. He could feed them by ravens if He so desired. There may be reasons the Lord wants them home from the field for their own good. But that does not exonerate the Lord’s people. Have we lost our sense of God’s call regarding our funds? Do we only respond when others beg? Or should we round-file those begging letters and ask the Lord to burden our hearts again?
You say, if only we had known about this worker and his need! I appreciate your sympathies, but are the Lord’s workers mere charity cases who must receive funds only when they are desperate? Should we not think of such faithful workers as blue chip investments in eternal matters? If you know of a faithful, hard-working, effective servant or ministry, put your money where your heart is, where it will have good returns.
Let those who trust in men look to men. But let those who know their God put their trust in Him.