An Extraordinary Act of Christian Charity

James, thought by some Biblical historians to be the half-brother of Jesus, issued a challenge to those of us who consider ourselves Christians: “Be doers of the Word,” he wrote, in the epistle that bears his name, “and not hearers only.”

Rankin Paynter proved himself this week equal to the challenge set forth by James.

The Winchester, Ky. businessman was shopping at a local Kmart that was scheduled to close its doors for good. He asked a clerk what was going to happen to all the unsold items and he was told that “power buyers” would take it all.

The day before the store closed its doors for the very last time, Paynter got a call saying he could purchase the store’s entire lot, which included everything from winter clothes to over-the-counter medication.

He agreed. And Paynter stood on line six and a half hours to purchase all $200,000 worth of the store’s unsold inventory at four different cash registers.

Then it took the septuagenarian businessman two trucks, two vans and six workers to move all the liquidated merchandise from the store to a storage facility.

Paynter didn’t know immediately what he was going to do with all the goods he bought from Kmart. He could have flipped his purchase and made a quick profit of $30,000 or $40,000.

But in an extraordinary act of charity, Paynter decided to donate the entire lot to Clark County Community Services, a faith-based organization. It works side by side with God’s Pantry, another faith-based organization, to serve the the Kentucky county’s needful.

“We’ve all been put on this earth to help each other through,” said Paynter, proprietor of a jewelry exchange store. “If I can help people through, I’m happy.”

Paynter is an example for all of us who truly desire to be good and faithful servants of Christ. For the Word instructs: “To whom much is given, from him much will be required.”

For the Word instructs: “To whom much is given, from him much will be required.”

I see this bandied about all the time when people are trying to make the point that those with wealth OWE it to others, that this passage is about charity.

NOT. Its about stewardship.

But when looking at the context of the passage, The person ONLY owes that who GAVE him that wealth.

Jesus is telling the parable of the wealthy man who gave 3 servants, 3 differing talents, and what they did with them.

Whats lost by most, is that the one given the most, did the most. And the one given the least did the least. And in the end, the wealthy man TOOK from the steward given the single talent, and gave it to the steward with the MOST talents.

This has nothing to do with the man with the most talents "giving" them away.

What it REALLY IS is what are EACH of us doing with what God has given us, little or a lot?

Which steward are we? Am I the steward given the most, or the medium amount or the least? And how am I using that?

Will GOD view me as the steward given the least and who does the least? See HE is the ONE who has the authority to require from us.

God is the one who gives us ALL we have. And he is the ONLY one with the authority to require of us.

None of us, singularly or as a society has the authority to judge Gods requirements on another. WE have no authority to approve or disapprove of what others do or don't do with the "talents" God gives them.

The real unspoken issue in the parable is that the wealthy owner gave 3 stewards 3 different amounts. And to the one he gave the most to, he got the most in return from. And to him he gave the least to, he got nothing in return from. Obviously the wealthy man knew the character of each his stewards.

What each of us needs to do, IS NOT look at what OTHERS have or do, BUT to look at OURSELVES and ask "Who does God see me as? The man given a lot, the medium amount or the little?" And "If God sees me as the steward given little, what have I done, or failed to do, that he sees in my character, that I am to be a steward of little?"

James, thought by some Biblical historians to be the half-brother of Jesus,

A minority of "historians" hold that view despite Scripture to the contrary.

James the Less, the author of the Epistle of St. James, was the son of Cleophas(Alpheus) and Mary (the other Mary from Matthew 27:56,61, 28:1 and John 19:25) and the brother of Joseph and Jude.

James the Greater was the son of Zebedee and Salome and the brother of John.

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