I think Jesus is making me a liberal.

Go ahead and wipe the coffee off of your computer screen. I'll wait.

The thought of me becoming a liberal is pretty crazy, isn't it? No, I'm not becoming pro-choice. Pretty sure the Scriptures are clear about that one. No, I'm not becoming an advocate for gay rights. Again, Scripture.

But there are other issues out there that I'm becoming a lot more fuzzy on; primarily, the disparity between the rich and the poor.

I am not a fan of what our current administration is doing to solve this. I do not believe it is up to the government to redistribute wealth. I do not think it is wise for the government to take over the free market. I think we are heading down a dangerous, slippery slope right now and I pray earnestly that our November election will put a dramatic halt to many of the things that have been happening over the past year.

But the problem is not the government. The problem is Christians.

When did we stray so far from the Scriptures that tell us over and over again to take care of the poor and needy, the widows and the orphans? When did we decide that the American dream of more and more stuff is a perfectly acceptable way for followers of Jesus to live? We have been so willingly enticed down the path of possessions that most of us don't even pause to question whether this is the road Christ would have us on.

Putting it globally, the population of the world is about 22 times that of the US. We make up about 4.5 percent of all the people living today. The average income in America is $38,611 per person, or $105 per day. That's average. Seems low, though, doesn't it?

Compare that to the fact that over a billion people worldwide live on less than $1 a day. That's 15 percent of the population. Add that to those making less than $2 a day and you go up to 40%, or 2.6 billion people. The poorest 40 percent of the world's population accounts for only 5 percent of global income. The richest 20 percent accounts for 3/4 of the world's income.

Or how about this. If you make $25,000 per year, you are wealthier than approximately 90% of the world's population. If you raise that to $50,000 per year, you are wealthier than 99% of the people on this planet. $50,000 a year.

I know this is a ton of facts and statistics, but I've just been blown away by the information I've been gathering lately. If your interest is sparked by this, and I pray that it is, please read Richard Stearn's book, "The Hole in our Gospel." Prepare to be convicted by what you read. We can not allow ourselves to sit by any longer and ignore the vast, far-reaching poverty of the rest of the world. It's not at all what Jesus intended.

So you might ask, "What's wrong with making a good income? Are you saying that is a sin?"

Not at all. I'm saying the problem is when we choose to take all of that income to make ourselves richer. To hoard more and more stuff. To sell our house to build something bigger than we need just because we can. To always want more.

Jesus says it's hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of Heaven. He's talking about us. He knows that when we are continually investing in ourselves and gathering more resources for personal gain, we are missing the point of the gospel.

Jesus preached social justice. He preached equality. If you simply start reading through the New Testament, you will see the writers over and over again exhorting believers to give of their resources for the poor and needy. You will be hard-pressed to find justification for hoarding personal wealth. It's just not there.

So do I suggest quitting your job and finding something that doesn't pay enough to support your family? No, unless you hear God calling you to quit your job. It happens. What I'm suggesting is that we all examine what we are doing with our resources. For years I have been throwing scraps at the poor and feeling pretty good about my giving. That's because it was done from a place of me being in charge instead of allowing God to show me where and how much to give.

But when we make Jesus the Lord over our lives, that means over our finances too. That means we ask before we purchase that big screen TV whether that's what he wants, or if he wants us to use that money for someone else.

This is not a popular concept. If you read Jesus' words carefully, most of what he said wasn't. He was radical in his preaching. It wasn't well accepted by many. In fact, it ultimately got him killed.

My purpose in this post is not to condemn. I've just been walking down a new road of thinking for the past several months and needed to share. My prayer is that you will be inspired to begin rethinking possessions and ownership and begin finding ways to spend your lives for the sake of the poor. It is an investment that is guaranteed to reap huge dividends.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21