Sell it all, Give to the Poor, Follow Me

Matthew 19:21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

My heart is grieved. I don't feel a great calling (as of today) to become a missionary or anything, but even if I wanted to, I don't think I could. It feels inappropriate to give the coat off of one’s back when one could actually still be paying it off. Jesus told this rich guy to sell everything, give to the poor, and follow Him. How does that work in America when people could literally sell everything they have and still be in debt (most likely inclused student loans)? I would gladly leave all my junk behind - but I'd still have stuff to pay off (a lot less than most people, I hear.)

Are Americans are in a trap? American Christians bought into the religion of financing; America's middle class and poor can have it all for no payments and interest for a year or low monthly payment for the next 20 years or more. Our worship is financing to the god of capitalism.

How can one follow Christ if, even after selling everything, there is still more to owe? What would a Jubilee look like today? (Leviticus 25)

I fear for my students right now. Some are freshmen and are planning on fully financing their college educations with student loans and are pursuing low wage jobs. One wants to be a teacher - if this student finances 4 years and makes payments on all loans after graduating, more than 1/2 of their salary will go to student loans! They want to go to a Christian school - which is basically going to put their grandchildren into debt so they can teach.

What does God want for this situation - and mine?

Sacrifice

I could be missing the point on this but it has convicted me nonetheless

20 "But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king. 21 The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal."

I was doing my Bible study this week and that verse was a part of it. I couldn't stop thinking about what it means to sacrifice. I also couldn't think of something that I have actually had to sacrifice for God. I know that the Lord wants me to do what He said rather than ritual sacrifices, but I do desire to give sacrificailly. 22 But Samuel replied: "Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the LORD ? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. It got me thinking about the building campaign College Park went through about a year ago. Heidi and I agreed on an amount that we would contribute and sacrifice for the building. I guess it has been just now that I realized we might have been wrong.

Our number would have stretched us a bit because we took money out of our 'entertainment' and 'eating out' lines of our budget. Of course there was still some money in those categories, but it was just less.

Is not going to McDonald's a true sacrifice? If I didn't go there, I would still have food at home. If there wasn't food at home, there was still money in the grocery budget to buy some. So really, I wasn't doing without, or actually sacrificing anything...was I?

Since we've been on our 'not buying' kick, I think I've actually started to detox from consumption a little and my priorities or even just the way I see things is different. So is there the an American sacrifice interpretation that goes into my faith? Is not going on a vacation considered a sacrifice?

I don't know if gas money could be considered a sacrifice or not, either, but it is probably the closest I've actually come. When we did our budget, our gas was set for an average amount that included my commute to work, a few errands, and our weekly trip to church. Heidi and I were also not apart of our current flock group (which we love) and didn't really have anywhere else to go. Since then, we are making about 3 trips a week to the northwest side of Indy and Heidi has one trip downtown to IUPUI.... so our gas has almost doubled - not to mention the rise in prices. But was is the 'true cost' here? The truer costs would have been entertainment money or eating out...but since we are not doing that, it is only really costing us an extension in paying off debt. The opprotunity cost is really nothing. We were spiritually in a drout for a long time - too long. So we are basically sacrificing savings and retirement for current spiritual development. I think it is worth it.

I'm fortunate, being an America, because I've never had to go hungry - even if things did get bad for us, there are services and programs that are there to help...not to mention GOD.

My favorite speaker just mentioned, in his latest film, "Don't pray for God to feed the hungry while you have food." Ouch! Don't pray for God to meet the needs of others when you are unwilling to sacrifice what HE has given you in the first place.

I'm sure I'll have more thoughts on this, but I have to go!

Cut consumption, not taxes.

Recently, I read this quote on the Internet:

"The sooner we get this relief in the hands of the American people, the sooner they can begin to do their job of being good consumers," Boehner said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080129/ap_on_go_co/economy_stimulus

He is a senator from Ohio commenting on the recent tax rebates that the senate just passed. I may be taking this WAY out of proportion, but it just seems wrong that the American people are just consumers.

I was telling my students today that it is their patriotic duty to spend money. In fact, that is their only purpose. It sounds a bit like "a brave new world." Never mind the ethnic cleansing in Kenya or any other issues outside the US. It is almost like we are supposed to stay sedated by consuming more crap. If we have our crap, we are happy and don't care about anything else. It is funny that the senators can agree on an economic package within a week, but it will probably be another year or longer before we see anything done on health care or immigration.

SO, lets cut greenhouse gases and waste BUT keep spending. It won't work that way!! You can't have both. If you want to protect the planet based on the theories of global warming, then we have got to cut our consuming... not our taxes! Even if you don't care about global warming, it is still wasteful and excessive living!

Into the New Year

It seems we survived the holiday shopping maddness. We really do enjoy giving gifts to others but this year it seem especially important to try to give more thoughtful gifts. We got a few things that seemed more 'requirements' than expressions of thought or love. But I guess that's what consumerisitic christmas is all about.

I heard, in more fundamental circles, that we should remember the 'reason for the season.' If thats the case, then what is the deal with all the presents?? They really don't have much to do with the Gospels.

I love giving gifts to people - I especially love it when they like it...when I was able to find something they enjoyed and thought was thoughtful. So, we are going to try to stick with birthday gifts this year. Not sure where that tradition came from, but it is fun to celebrate those special days. The gifts may not be made in China or be expensive, but if the global economy keeps up its pains we won't be able to afford these expensive traditions much longer.

I came across a website called "The Story of Stuff" I was so SHOCKED to find that 99% of the stuff consumers buy ends up in the trash within 6 months. So by July of 08, most of the gifts given will be broke or just trashed. The website has an amazing 20 minute video on the consumption cycle. Check it out: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Heidi is taking a grad class at IUPUI this semester -which isn't good for the 'not spending' because Long's Bakery is near the campus. Why else would you go downtown but for a donuts? So, we've had temporary lapeses of donuts indulgences. Its a process! :-) We aren't being super legalistic about the whole thing - it is still a fun experiment.

Lovin' our library, too. Our $30.00 in property taxes is well spent on books, CDs, and DVDs!! Almost free entertainment.

Oh - and we are getting a free piano. There is not cost, but we have to rent a truck to get it. Happy Birthday, Heidi.