"The Appearance of Evil"

Before we arrive to sos for the summer, philip asked the staff to read "There is the Kingdom, Celebrating the Gospel in Urban America" by Robert D. Lupton. One, it's an amazing book. it is just the story roberts life in the inner city: the good, the bad, the shameful, the ugly, the joys, the hurts, and the heart aches. it is set up much like a journal would be; short stories, ideas, etc. anyways one particular story that has just really challenged me is called "The Appearance of Evil"
it goes like this:
"Our 1977 Datsun was a faithful workhorse But with 150,000 miles showing on the odometer and blue smoke billowing from the tailpipe, the time came for its honorable retirement. For several months, Peggy (his wife) and I talked and prayed about its replacement.
At Christmas time a friend presented us with the keys to a late model shiny black Audi 5000 Turbo Diesel. We were speechless! It was an extraordinary automobile. One owner, well maintained, an ideal size for our family. Not even in our most aggressive dreaming and praying had we envisioned such a gift.
When we slipped into the leather seats and pulled out of the driveway for our first ride, it was sheer delight. The seats adjusted to our posture, the car handled easily, and a superb stero system wrapped us in classical music. Perhaps it was our own enthrallment but people seemed to take more notice of us that when we drove our Datsun. Americans and Luptons love quality. What a wonderful gift from God.
A few days later, I gave a journalist a tour of our ministry. When we drove past our house he saw the Audi sitting in the driveway. I wished immediately it was parked behind the house, out of sight. I wondered what assumptions were silently forming in the writer's mind. What questions did the Audi raise about my integrity or that of our ministry? I wanted to explain that the car was an answer to prayer, not a symbol of self-indulgence. I wanted to say that it was not as new as it looked, that it was a gift. But since to explain would only make me appear defensive, i said nothing. I hoped he would conclude that the car belonged to someone else.
The car was a gift from God, wasn't it? An answer to our prayers? Why then did I feel uneasy about others seeing it? For years I had been bothered by the television evangelists who own gold Mercedes and Lear jets. And by the lady preacher of a poor church in our community who drives a new pink Cadillac Eldorado convertible that she says God gave her. Wasn't getting rich from ministry and lounging in self indulgent comfort at the expense of others just plain sin?
But the Audi was different. It wasnt a Mercedes or a Cadillac. It was much further down the list of prestige automobiles. With no car payment, excellent gas mileage, and a long-life diesel engine, it was worth far more to drive that to trade. And trading down to a Chevy or Toyota would mean a loan. Debt was something we were trying to avoid. Good stewardship would lead us to keep the Audi and enjoy it as a blessing from God.
At a dinner table discussion, Jeff, our seventeen year old son, commented that it seemed dishonest for us even to consider trading the Audi just to play into a "humble missionary" image. For all of our urban lifestyle adjustments, we were still rich by the standard of most of our neighbors. An Audi was an authentic expression of that reality. It was honest.
Peggy added that it didn't seem fair for our decisions to be controlled by the perceptions and expectations of people watching from a distance. We knew the Audi made good sense for us. Why should we let the uninformed judgements of others rob us of our enjoyment? The Audi was honest and it was right.
How strange it was that over the next few days I heard the voice of my dad replaying from the memories of my childhood. He had been gone for some years, yet his words returned with remarkable clairty: "Avoid the very appearance of evil"
His quote from scripture spoke of values of a different kind. The words called for sensitivity to the lifestyle struggles of others. They cautioned against wounding the conscience of a fragile believer or causing young faith to turn cynical. They spoke of Audis- the honest and right things in life that must be relinquished for the sake of others. The Audi was something good. But using money given for urban ministry among the poor to support the luxurious lifestyle of an urban worker, that was evil. Even its appearence was to be shunned. So what was the higher value- good stewardship or avoiding the apperance of evil? What about the hypocrisy of driving a "humble" car when we could really afford better? Our motives are never pure anyway. Christians aren't supposed to judge each other, so why become captive to unimformed opinions?
I would have like to continue this rational filibuster for the next several years while I enjoyed driving the Audi. But when I became quiet before God I was aware of that gentle nudging, familiar to all believers, toward the laying down of life and other valued things for the sake of brothers and sisters.
Thank you dear friend for your generous and thoughtful gift.Although we could not keep the Audi, it brought us joy, struggle, and a deeper understanding of the life in Christ to which we all have been called.



So that's it. That is one of his stories. it really challenged me to think what i would do. would i even think about the appearance of evil? would it have even made me feel uncomfortable if it sat in my driveway if i lived in the inner city? or would i just see it as a blessing and go on not really thinking about my brothers and sisters? So you should let me know your thoughts and opinions about Luptons story...