Recently, I posted about a conversation that Billy and I had about whether or not we ought to spend money on expensive guitars or pianos or alcohol when there are more worthy causes such as people dying of starvation that we could give the same money toward. A heated response ensued in the comments.
After Billy tried to explain me (thank you, most valiant knight of mine), Jenn asked why I feel guilty of these types of pleasures. While "guilt" is probably not the right word, I definitely have deep feelings of turmoil when confronted with the choice to spend my money on a full-out luxury for myself as others go without the bare necessities.
Now, my understanding of Jenn's recent comments is this: Idealism is only good when it leads to enough change. Not buying luxuries like beer cannot bring about enough change. Therefore, my idealism has gone too far.
I disagree with this position. I do not believe God called billionaires alone to make change in the world. I don't believe that we need to have extreme excess (which is a relative term, anyway) in order to do enough to make a difference.
Rather, I think every "little" thing we do makes enough difference to be worth it. So, I ask myself..."am I doing enough little things?"
This is not a question I ask out of trying to earn salvation or feeling like I have to get notoriety for my actions. It is simply me desiring to put faith into action. This is me considering whether I truly have the Mind of Christ at fervent work within me.
So, similar to Oskar Schindler (see clip below), I believe the lives that could be saved from every small donation are worth said donation.
I believe that luxuries shouldn't be taken for granted, and that sacrifice is our calling. This doesn't mean we can't enjoy life. It simply means that we can enjoy life on less.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
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weeeeeellll....
ReplyDeleteround two.... ;)
i don't think i meant that idealism is "only good when it makes enough change." I think i meant that sometimes the best intentions pave the road to hell. as in, your beer example: budweiser makes billions a year. if no beer, then no budweiser. budweiser as a "corporate citizen" donates tons of money to charity (well, relatively, i wish corporations donated more money to charity, but we're splitting hairs.).
Anyway. Whatever.
I agree with you that we should do the best with what we have for now. And ask God to
1. send workers into the harvest.
2. equip the workers with money/other resources so they can harvest
3. show us what else we can do whether it's little or it's big.
4. expand our faith such that we can move the "mountains" - give us the faith to start helping somewhere even if we feel like we aren't "equipped" - i.e. Moses....
you dig?
In terms of the luxury stuff, I am thankful to God for every thing He gives me and Tom. I am very appreciative of His blessings to us. I don't want to offend Him by saying, "you know God? I don't really want this nice car you've allowed me to make the money to have and in good conscience you've allowed me to donate plenty other of my money so I can have this car. I just don't want it. Thanks, though." That's like slapping Him in the face. "Nah, God, even though we have saved and we have been judicious in our spending and our allocation of resources, I don't really want to own a house. Thanks, though for the talents and abilities to have done so and gotten to this point but no, I don't want the house you've given me!" I mean - really. We could take it there.
I want to enjoy what He has allowed me to have. If it's meager rations, I enjoy it. If it's more than I can imagine, I want to enjoy it. I believe I am more blessed by blessing others. If I can have a LOT, I want to bless a LOT. To whom much is given, much is required - WELL YES! Require a lot of me God! I want you to challenge me because I want to make you proud. That's the cry of my heart. I want to be a millionaire so I have tons of resources to give out!
What is wrong with that?! He's given me the talent to become a millionaire. Am I supposed to eschew that in favor of a "humble life" (i.e. give the bum on the street my cash instead of investing it so it makes a return on which I tithe/give away/set up charitable annuities) so I have less for others to be blessed by?
Hey Sarah, I found your blog linked from Billy's. It may not be my place to interject into this conversation, but I just wanted to offer some thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI guess my opinion comes down to this: living in the US, we have more luxuries and excess than we even realize. Do you have air conditioning in your house? Do you take showers with hot water? Are these things really necessities? Where is the line when something becomes a luxury? It's very hard to define.
If you've ever spent time in a different culture (especially a poorer one), the excess of ours is very obvious when you return. I even noticed it dramatically after coming back from the Czech Republic, which is relatively modern.
The temptation is to judge the culture and to vow to sell everything you own. While there may be a place for some of this, I think the answer comes down to your attitude towards your "stuff". Determine if you being faithful and wise with what you have, and also giving sacrificially and joyfully. Try to give more and more and live on less and less. Examine everything you have and figure out how you can use it to serve God and others. Stewardship is a bigger issue than quantity.
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ReplyDeleteJonathan,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I've been to both Mexico and Jamaica, and this is where a lot of my conviction stems from. After going there, I really notice my luxury. (You can check this post out about in my August 2005 archives.)
So, of course I use air conditioning. But I leave mine at 79 degrees. (Jenn, does a good job with this area, too.)
Yes, I take hot showers, but pretty much only in the winter. I'm happy with cool showers in the summer. We also try to limit our time in there to save both energy and water and money.
My point is and always has been that there's always more that we can sacrifice in order to help others. My point is not, and never has been that we should give up everything. Although sometimes I think that, I would never actually suggest that.
I've never limited the discussion to beer. Jenn just happened to comment on that particular issue and that's where the discussion focused itself.
(BTW, Jenn, as for Budweiser giving to charity...it's all in vain if it's not attached to the name of Christ. So, their giving isn't as valid as the giving of a Christian when it furthers God's kingdom. And, yes..I dig.)
I feel this way in all things that I have. I have a computer that takes energy. Is that okay?
I'm constantly weighing the benefits of something I own or use and questioning if it's valuable enough to maintain or if I should use my money for something else. This is my definition of stewardship.
Hi Sarah, I found a link to your blog from Billy's blog, and this caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. I think the small things make a difference and it's so easy for us who aren't 'rich' in the context of the society we live in to try and use it as a scapegoat, when in relation to the whole world we're millionaires!!
I recently read 'The Irresistible Revolution' by Shane Claiborne and watched the NOOMA DVD 'Rich' by Rob Bell and both really challenged me.
I guess we've got to be good stewards of what we've got and really discern how we spend our money and how we use the 'stuff' we've been blessed with.
Like Jen has said, there are times I know God has blessed me with a gift. But I think it makes a difference in how we treat those gifts.
One was my car. I worked crazy hours one summer to raise funds for driving lessons and my car. But I really felt that it was something God was ok with. And just as well, because with in a few months my Dad, and then my Gran got really ill, and I wouldn't have been able to support my family as much if I hadn't had my own transport. And you know what, it's not MY car. It's GOD's car. That's why I use it to give people lifts - my car used to be known as the Christian Union ambulance service when I was at uni!!
My guitar was another one. I got given some money from my Dad one Christmas and I spent the whole lot on getting an electro-acoustic guitar. My guitar is borrowed by so many people as it is can be linked up to a PA system - a lot of people don't have a guitar that does that.
But at the same time moving out my flat made me realise how much I've bought with my wages I earned such as clothes, shoes, CDs, DVDs etc. that I've convinced myself I 'really need' or are a 'gift from God'. Not true - I just got sucked in by the media and some diluted gospel messages.
So now I'm going through a process of clearing out all the stuff I don't acutally need and having a car boot sale with my housegroup. All the proceeds are going to charity.
But I find myself in a constant battle to not conform to the western world's view on money. Sometimes I manage to please God, a lot of times I fail miserably.
Brunette,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments. I recently read a blog post about limiting one's personal belongings to 100 items for the sake of organization (had nothing immediate to do with God). They did not include individual articles of clothing or things like dishes.
I think this is a profound idea that most people would not want to do. Think of how many people have over 100 CDs, not to mention other belongings.
I'm guilty, too. I have tons of things that I don't need, and I don't think we should never have anything that's unnecessary, but I think the idea of intentionally limiting it is a cool one.