The one who commits themselves to the task of helping people really enter into doubt, unknowing, and ambiguity needs to be ten, twenty, even a hundred times better than those who sell certainty. They have got to be prepared to walk a difficult and often dangerous path if they wish to invite people into this murky and uncertain world, for in doing so they bring to the surface a whole host of anxieties that we spend so much of our time and resources repressing.

I recently finished Tim Keller’s book, King’s Cross, and came across this quote which reminded me of my story about generosity versus skepticism.

People will say, “How can you spend your money like that? How can you let that career opportunity go by? How can you be involved with such a needy person when you know she will probably take advantage of you?” A Christian can respond, “It’s not the end of the world if somebody takes advantage of me, or if my money is gone, or if my career doesn’t develop as I might like. I’m not controlled by that fear anymore.” You are replacing the kingdom of this world with the kingdom of God.