The Questions Every Christian Should Ask Themselves
Whenever Kristen Welch talks about parenting or serving others, I listen. Today, she’s here on the blog, talking about both, so you can bet I’m pulling a chair up close. Kristen is radically sold out to Jesus, unlike few women I’ve encountered, and it’s more than lip-service. She lives the gospel with her whole life. Today, we celebrate the release of her latest book, Raising World Changers in a Changing World.
Pull up a chair. Have a listen.
The Questions Every Christian Should Ask Themselves
By Kristen Welch
1 – Why do you think God has allowed you to be born in North America . . . and to be blessed with such material and spiritual abundance?
2 – In light of the superabundance you enjoy, what do you think is your minimal responsibility to the untold millions of lost and suffering in the world?
I read these two questions in Revolution in World Missions by K. P. Yohannan, founder of Gospel for Asia, and they revolutionized my life and the way I parent. He urged every North American Christian to ask themselves two questions that keep them awake at night. These are the questions that have shaped my home and turned my family right side up. I want to spend my life answering them. I want my children to answer them with how they choose to live and give.
Go ahead. Ask yourself these questions. Where you live is not an accident, not the luck of the draw. There is a reason you are where you are. God has a purpose for placing you here and not there. What do you think it is?
I don’t think it’s a mathematical mistake that one-third of the world is rich enough to ease the burden of the other two-thirds, who are desperately poor and living on less than one dollar a day. Nor is it a curious coincidence that we are already sitting on the answer. It’s something we teach our children from the cradle. It’s called sharing. We have more than enough, and we have enough to share. It sounds like a match made in heaven. Maybe it was God’s plan all along for us to love others and, instead of accumulating more stuff, to give some of what we have away.
America is a land of opportunity. It’s a place where we can achieve all we want and more. But just because we can get more, should we? It’s a hard question only we can answer. This isn’t about the size of a home or a car or a bank account. It’s not about guilt or lifestyle—it’s about the size of our hearts.
I know people who have much and give much. I know people who have almost nothing and give even more.
Yohannan challenges us with more tough questions in No Longer a Slumdog. He asks, “How many more cars, clothes, toys and trinkets do we really need before we wake up and realize that half the world goes to bed every night with empty stomachs and naked bodies?”
I believe when God asks us what we did with our talents, our resources, our land-of-the-free, home-of-the-brave opportunities, we will be accountable for our answers. We may give already. But we have been given so much. We can give more, share more, and do more. Not to prove we are good people or because we need a longer list of good works. We give because our purpose is to glorify God. We give because he first loved us, and we are to love others. We give because we have it to give. We give because we want to raise children who give. We want to see our kids change someone else’s world.
Maybe this is why we have so much. Maybe this is why we were born where we were born. Maybe this is why we are where we are today. I don’t know where you are right now. You might be in any country in the world. You might be in the middle of your house in the middle of suburbia folding laundry. You might be reading this on your shift break at your job in the hospital on floor two. You might be standing in line at the pharmacy, waiting for a prescription for your mother, who is very sick. You might be in the lowest season of your life or in the best. I don’t know. But I believe where you are matters. I believe we are where we are for a reason. And we simply must acknowledge that God in all his power and sovereignty placed us among the world’s richest people for a purpose other than fulfilling the American dream.
Someone in your world, at your job, in your neighborhood, or on your path needs to know that you are where you are because you can help them where they are. Someone is waiting for you to share your money, your time, and your life with them. We were created to reveal the glory of Jesus to others.
Kristen Welch, blogger at We are THAT family, is the bestselling author of Raising Grateful Kids in An Entitled World and Raising World Changers, releasing May 1, 2018. To purchase her book, click here.
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#TellHisStory
Each week, I host an encouraging community of bloggers who are telling their stories around the web and across the world. The linkup goes live each Tuesday at 4 p.m. (CT) on my blog. If you are a blogger who loves to encourage others with stories of faith and hope, you are welcome to link up with us.
Each week, I feature one of the writers in our #TellHisStory community. Our featured writer this week is Bev Rihtarchik. Friend, if you’re struggling with guilt or shame today, these words from Bev are written with you in mind. Find Bev here.
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So great that you are featuring Kristen’s wisdom here today, Jennifer! My copy landed in the mailbox yesterday! I loved Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, so I’m looking forward to more parenting wisdom from Kristen!
Kristen is a gem. Always providing good, nutritious food for thought!
Kristin’s story and mission are phenomenal in a world that lives in abundance. I have been following her for awhile and have learned so much about how I should look at who I am and how I can make a difference in my own corner of the world. Thank you Jennifer for sharing her words and book here today.
Oh my, Kristin. What a beautiful, challenging, convicting post. I’ve been thinking about some of these topics as we try to help our boys see their need for Jesus in their lives. I needed your perspective.
Jennifer, thank you so much for sharing Kristin’s words and her books here. I need them! I think I’ll swing by later and purchase them.
Such timely words for me.
Jennifer,
Thanks for featuring my post on “Breaking The Shackles of Shame” this week…what a treat to see my name. I can really relate to Kristen’s book. Even the poorest folks in the US are still rich by the world’s standards. Working with our school in the Middle East helps to keep me humble. I know the children would be blown away if they stepped into one of our grocery stores, or saw the houses we live in, stuff upon stuff we own, clothes in our closets. It’s truly amazing how far the pendulum swings in terms of differences. Our kids moan about having to go to school. There, they break down and weep at the opportunity to go to school – especially the girls. We also cannot fathom the terror-ridden world in which they live. If only our kids could walk one day in their shoes….maybe the entitlement factor would decrease?? I wonder….
Blessings,
Bev xx
So thankful for you and your service on behalf of this school, Bev! Congrats on being featured here!
You pose some tough questions, Kristen. I like to pay my tithe, make some charitable donations, work at a school for underprivileged Native kids, and pat myself on the back thinking I’ve done enough. But it’s never enough. We can always do more, love more, share more.
Great questions. Heard Kristen recently on a podcast. My she is convicting. This looks like a great book. And these are questions to ask our children. Especially when they are complaining about how bad life is. Traveling and seeing these things up close and reading lots of books about people in different circumstances and counties than us can help us see how privileged we are in comparison with others.
Thanks so much for featuring this book. Although I’ve spent most of my adult life overseas, I too need to be challenged in this area. There are so many Syrian refugees on the streets in my city that it is overwhelming, and as we move back to the US for good this summer, we hope to work with refugees and students from our area of the world in America–and mobilize others to join– so I have a feeling this would have lots of insights for me.
Also glad you featured Bev today! She is a dear!
Sobering, thought-provoking thoughts this morning. And overwhelming in one sense – what can one person or family do in the face of the world’s needs? We can’t solve them all, but we can seek that particular place God does want us to fill.
You have me thinking, “Do I give enough?” I found it fascinating when I worked as a CPA to see how those with less gave so much more. Thank you for the though provoking post today.
I have asked these questions. What a great book! Will share!
He planned our lives and even the good things we do by His grace.
Thanks for hosting!
Kristen is right: we enjoy great abundance. What more would you have us to do and give, Lord?