I should have given the hat...

Late last week my roommate came running into the apartment and began to ransack the kitchen. He informed me (because of my protests) that a godly and compassionate member of our campus community had brought a homeless person to the basketball game being played in the Steve Lacy field house. The man was in need of food and warm clothing, and my roommate, in his generosity and compassion, thought to take the man a bag of clothes and food from our apartment. 

He asked me if I had anything warm I could part with, and I went to check my closet. There were two sweaters from Old Navy hanging there; into the bag they went. I thought of walking outside and remembered my freezing feet earlier that day; in went a couple pairs of socks. Then I remembered a package of jersey gloves I’d bought earlier this year in anticipation of mission trips; in went two pairs of dark gloves. 

I thought about a hat: I had a couple, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to part with them. My roommate saved me in my indecision by throwing in an extra hat he found in his things. 

As my roommate took off with the bag of things, I went back into my room and sat down in my office chair. I had a warm feeling inside. I felt like I had done something worthwhile, and perhaps I had. 

It was not until today, in the last lingering moments of Christ and Culture class, that I realized what a fool I really was. Had I sacrificed? Had I truly done what Jesus would have asked of me? You see, I never wear those sweaters; I can't even get either one on. I have 35 pairs of socks. I have 20 pairs of gloves. I had given out of my excess, I had given enough. 

Did you wonder, as did I, about what Chris Rice told us? Did you wonder why the church has gone along with America, and voluntarily segregated itself? I can tell you why. We did enough. As soon as the church at large perceived the winds of change, we adopted the non-racist language, the beatific smiles, and the civil rights slogans. That was enough. 

If a black person came into our church, we simply did and said the rote, and that was enough to get by. It allowed us to avoid integration, because no one wants to stay in a church were they are the object of an insincere doctrine. We did enough to maintain appearances and conscience. We have become a church divided, because we did enough. 

Is there any wonder that the world at large scoffs at Christianity? One day a week they see us go into those towering edifices we call Churches, and the other sixdays a week we are just like them. We practice our religion enough to get the fire insurance, and enough to look like upstanding members of our community. It is strange that they know the truth, but we cannot see it. 

Enough is an illusion. Deep in our hearts we know it. It may take us a while to realize it, but we know that the enough we practice is not enough to make a difference. It is not enough for Jesus. 

If we truly love our Savior, nothing will ever be enough. We will love him to our dying day, doing our utmost each day to show the world that love. Our communities will cast aside their hidden prejudice, and make an end of the Christianity of Enough. We can make a difference in our world. We must believe that. A light, even the smallest one, can dispel the darkness. 

If anyone needs it, I still have that hat.