I recently had the opportunity to speak to someone close to me about the Lord. This person (let's call her Jane) commented that she felt that it was not necessary to go to church to be a Christian. Her opinion of churches is that they are filled with 'needy' people! I was horrified! However, I felt that it was important that I take into consideration Jane's personality, her personal situation and worldview before commenting.
Jane has become very successful in her line of work. She is well known, sought after and has had several magazine articles published about her work. Her husband is also successful and they run their own business. They lack for nothing materially and both feel that they are well-balanced, intelligent, strong-willed and highly capable. Neither of them has really felt the need for God in their lives as they have been able to achieve all that they have done on their own without having to 'depend' on a higher power to see them through. They are, in their minds, self-made people.
I then considered what she had said about the types of people who attend church and realized that she definitely cast me into the needy category. You see, I had made some huge mistakes in my life which she was aware of and even though I have learnt from those mistakes, grown as a person, and am now using my past experiences combined with training, to counsel people, in her eyes I am a failure in life. I then considered all my wonderful friends in church and their situations and quite honestly, couldn't think of anyone who fitted the dictionary definition of 'needy'. Yet each one of them loved the Lord with all their hearts and souls and all came to church regularly. Most of them are actively involved in the church in some form or the other, facilitating cell groups, teaching bible study, leading worship, running the children's ministry, etc., etc. They do so happily, with no need to be coerced into helping out at all.
The dictionary definition of 'needy' is as follows; poor; underprivileged; emotionally dependant; deprived; disadvantaged. To me, that described the people that we serve! The HIV orphans living in shacks; the street children; the elderly – not the members of our church. I do know that despite the fact that most of the members of our church are middle-income families, they do have their personal problems just like everyone else! On further consideration I realized that Jane, despite her relative wealth, is just as needy as anyone else! You see, despite her healthy financial status, she never appears to be truly happy. Certainly if you were to ask her, she would insist that she leads a wonderful life and is perfectly content, but she lacks peace, is constantly chasing the next 'big job', and helps herself relax in the evenings with several glasses of wine before bed.
So after looking carefully at both groups of people, I decided that if Christians are 'needy' people I am so glad to be one. For the Christians I know and love are just as hard working as Jane, some are wealthier than her, some are not there yet, however they all have a wonderful, inner peace that comes from knowing that they are loved by their loving Father in Heaven. They have the joy of knowing that He has them safely in His hands and that He is there beside them through good times and bad. They also do not fear death, in fact many even talk of it with a sense of anticipation at the thought of finally being in Heaven with their maker, the infinite Creator of the Universe, who keeps the stars spinning yet is concerned with every tiny event in their lives! They have a sense of belonging, of extended family, of all being the children of God. They have a sense of purpose which they get from knowing that God has a plan for their lives, and that their lives matter, that if they are surrendered to Him, God will use them in amazing ways to advance His kingdom. That He cares for them and will bless them and shower them with His amazing love!
A needy person is very seldom able to give anything of themselves to others due to their physical or emotionally deprived state. That being the case I firmly believe that, with all the loving, kindness and generosity that is displayed by all the Christians that I know, they are certainly not the 'needy' ones!
