IDEOLOGIES

As I mentioned in the previous entry, my oldest was born with a medical condition that required numerous surgeries and has been followed by years of private therapy. This all started seven years ago at his birth, but the bills started coming in about six years ago. The cost of Bryce’s medication and therapy is beginning to level off, but is still high. This financial emergency coincided with graduate school that while being funded largely by financial aid, had additional costs that were unexpected as well as the loss of income due to working around school schedule. Then four years ago I was let go from a job. It took me almost a year before I could find something else. My wife and I have been incredibly fortunate in that we have parents that have been able to help us, but eight years ago before the birth of Bryce we had a total debt of an $80,000 mortgage and small car payment and a like $2,000 on a credit card. Since then we had another son, bought a house that we thought would be a good investment and manageable, and bought a minivan. Now, seven years later, we have accumulated debt that (until I find a job that makes my PhD fiscally worth it) leaves us with exactly zero at the end of the month. Neither Shannon nor I are financial geniuses nor are we cheap, but we are both intelligent and fairly simple people. We don’t spend much money even if we aren’t great about looking for the best deal. I say this because I am perfectly willing to accept that our financial situation has been exasperated by our own actions, but also that most of our problems have rooted from things beyond our control. Our financial situation is a constant source of frustration and limitation and we anxiously wait for the day that we can put some of this mess behind us.

Peoples’ financial situation, including how they spend their money, is as taboo in western Christianity as sex. It’s okay to like money (and sex). It’s okay to have money (and sex). And the church is fine with telling people how to spend money (and have sex). Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of churches out there pandering to the financial struggles of the congregation and there are many churches who do the good work of offering some real teaching on finances, but in general conversation, for one Christian to admit to a group of others that he has debt that is out of control is to admit that he is a failure. People tend to act supportive, but the rugged individualism of western Christianity presupposed that good people don’t have money problems.

I realize that this is far too general and that there are in fact many churches and Christians that are sympathetic to those with financial struggles. But there is a serious lack of open communication in Christian culture about money and how it should be spent. I believe that this is because certain camps have been established that polarize for many issues. There is one camp that believes that God helps those who help themselves that are in opposition to those who would rather listen to Joel Osteen’s advice on the matter. Likewise, there are conservative Christian who believe that the best hand up society can give is through the work of the local church who are opposed to those on the left who believe that charity is meaningless if it just perpetuates an unjust society. These ideologically opposing views may be useful in debates, but generally don’t open a line of communication that are representative of the authenticity that should be characteristic of Christianity.

And that is my real point. It isn’t about money and which churches are or are not dealing with the topic appropriately, but that modern, western Christianity is stuck in a paradoxical loop where it shares the defining characteristic of fundamentalism, but is deeply divided along ideological lines. Christianity has at many points along historical lines been shaped by its doctrine, or what it believes. Christianity is about something much more than that and it at its core about the event of God, to steal the wording from Caputo and Rollins. This event is universal and shared by those who deviate along doctrinal lines. However, Christianity should be able to transcend these doctrinal lines in discussion about truth in much the same way that it transcends them with service during times of tragedy. But since these doctrinal issues are so rooted and often shaped by cultural identities, communication is hindered as territories are protected.

In my recovery of and in Christianity I find that I am less concerned with what people believe than why they believe it. The relational ministry that so many Christians advocate for won’t be formed as long as it is rooted in protecting what we believe. Relational ministry, however, will begin to be formed when topics, even as taboo as money and sex, are discussed in forums rooted in stories. Topics such as homosexuality and abortion will not instantly invoke rhetoric, but will cause an inner discomfort that requires a faithfulness to resolve. Conversations with “non-believers” will be shaped not in proving God but in listening to what others mean by the name of God. As I consider how to conclude this entry all I can think of is how many of my good friends will disagree with this and that maybe I shouldn’t have shared my financial situation.