Occupy Till He Comes

Much has been in the news lately about Occupy Wall Street. According to Wikipedia, “Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations in New York City based in Zuccotti Park in the Wall Street financial district. They are mainly protesting social and economic inequality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over government—particularly from the financial services sector—and lobbyists.” What began two months ago as a protest in New York City has spread to cities throughout the United States and other countries.

How should Christians respond to this whole Occupy movement? It’s interesting that Jesus Himself said in Luke 19:13 (KJV), “Occupy till I come.” But that doesn’t mean the Lord wants us just sitting around until He returns. The New King James Version of Luke 19:13 reads, “Do business till I come.” Jesus went on to say in verse 23, “Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?” This would counter claims by some folk that Jesus was poor.

The Lord wants us blessed so that we can be a blessing to others and have a greater influence for the kingdom of God. If more Bible-believing churches did their part in feeding the poor and housing the homeless, then our governments wouldn’t have to be involved with these things. A friend of mine in London, Ontario who has gotten involved with the Occupy movement there repeatedly points out that Jesus “cleansed the temple” by driving out the moneychangers (Mark 11:15-17). God is not against us having money but having wrong motives for using it.

Everything we do for the Lord should be done with an eternal perspective. My Canadian friend is reaching out to the demonstrators in her city by cooking and eating with them plus sharing the gospel. She has (so far) seen two people there receive Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Every Christian should be active in using their talents and abilities to bless people and ultimately lead them to salvation. What are you doing with yours?

“His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things.  Enter into the joy of your lord.’” - Matthew 25:21

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