Soap, soup………..and what was the other one??

The Soap Army…..The Soup Army…...doesn’t quite sound right does it? However, I believe this could be our greatest legacy, that of good works and secular bravado if we do not keep our focus as an Army of Salvation; certainly it is a worry when many secular people do not see the Army as a Holiness Movement that is a branch of the universal Christian Church, but rather as a ‘charity’. As a soldier, I take offence to this.
Please do not misunderstand me, part of the Army’s greatest strength is pioneering social justice, but I believe social justice and the Salvation of souls should not diverge (as a fork in the road), nor should they be ‘side by side’ (like railway tracks), but social justice and salvation should be interlocked, intertwined, not one without the other.
The previous post mentions the importance of being a ‘living river’ where He flows through, but I dare say that many in the Army today are but lakes, lakes polluted with self work, self effort, self satisfaction, and self appeasement and duty. Is this being harsh? Perhaps, but if we are not motivated by the Fathers love we have missed out calling – if we no longer care about the soul but the work then we are serving the Army, and not God.
The motivation of William Booth was the salvation of souls, and service to the widow, the orphan, the poor and the outcast was a means of sharing (showing) the love of Christ. The General did not feel like he could share the Gospel with a person who had an empty stomach, so he fed them, then saved them in Christ. The soap, the soup, these are to be Christ to the people, that the people may see Christ, repent, and be saved. So have we digressed at all? What do you think?

Consider the ‘Red Shield Appeal’, an appeal where in Australia thousands upon thousands of Army ‘collectors’ collect money by going door to door. Here we see many soldiers APPROACH the unsaved, not with Good News but with a request for money. We knock on people’s doors, collect money, use this money for social service, and this ‘work’ thus points to the love of Christ, opens people up for the Gospel, and therefore the people can find salvation
On the other hand, we could just share the Gospel and see them saved directly.

The loss of focus in some parts of the Army is evident by what a (as of yet) unsaved friend of mine told me when he had an interesting experience with a man from the Salvation Army yesterday. This is what he told me happened via MSN (name changed for privacy reasons):

Mr.X says:
some dude from the salvation army just rang

PAUL says:
thats pretty weird, what did he say

MR.X says:
was askin if i could knock on doors..he was a %$#@

PAUL says:
what? a guy rang asking if you could knock on doors?

MR.X says:
yes, and i sed nah sorry and he kept persisting and hes like..so u dont wana help ppl? and then he just sed hmm didnt think so and hung up

PAUL says:
he said "hmmm didnt think so" and hangup on you?

MR.X says::
yeah he was angry

PAUL says:
and he goes "what you don’t want to help people?'

MR.X says::
yeh he was tryin to make me feel guilty as if i never help ppl

MR.X says:
and i never get p&^* off with ppl but he was a JERK

I do not want to state that this man who used rudeness, sarcasm, and guilt is representative of the Army as a whole, but I think it illustrates how important it is to be motivated by the love of Christ. If I had the opportunity I would of told this Army ‘representative ’”If your work for the Army is just work, not participation with God, motivated by the Love of Christ for your brother, then don’t bother”.

Come on comrades, without Him we are nothing! He is not impressed by work that is not motivated by His Spirit, so why should we be? He wants people fed to be saved, not for His beloved to go to hell on a full stomach!

Soap, soup, and Salvation….Sounds pretty good to me!

Much love, Paul.

p.s When I door knock (collect) for the Army, I also try to ask each individual I approach if they have any prayer requests ….give it a try!