My Thoughts On Social Gospel Theology

"It is not a matter of getting individuals to heaven but of transforming the life on earth in the harmony of heaven"

The post Christian world has been locked into an individualistic approach toward the Gospel for so long that we have failed miserably in relieving human suffering. It has been so easy here in America to just let the Government provide services to the poor and indigent.

Several years ago my wife and myself worked for World Relief. We assisted refugees to resettle into an American life. Many of these refugees had heard that we would provide them with all that they wanted and needed. Such thinking resulted in disillusionment and despair for so many of the refugees, because of a promise to help they misinterpreted. We learned that the more you gave, the more the refugees wanted. This has been the case of welfare in America, as generations have been the recipients of a system gone off track.

For example, if someone is hungry I could give them food, only to have them return when the food ran out. But if I give them farming tools, seed to plant, water to irrigate and the knowledge to use them, then they would grow their own food, reaping a harvest. This harvest would not only feed them but could be shared with others and end starvation. If all of us only did a small part, then much of human suffering could be relieved. In Mark 14:7 Yeshua said, " For the poor you always have with you, and whenever you wish, you can do them good." It is in our ability to do, however, such suffering has continued without remedy. As a believing people, we haven't even begun to undo the works of darkness, as many are diseased and go hungry. Truly, the laborers are few and the problems have become immense. The AIDS crisis in Africa is a prime example. Suppose we had ministered early on, could this health crisis have been avoided? A hard question to answer, but we will never know because we did not try. So do the principals of the Kingdom of YHWH need to be administered by us who call on His Name?

Absolutely! Each of us can make a difference if we do our part and avoid the pitfalls of thinking we have to be perfect. Loving our neighbor as ourselves truly is the Kingdom at work and the chosen fast that He has commanded.