No one likes being asked for money, until they are no longer asked.
Few of us like to be asked for money.
Most of us do not like phone solicitors or door to door salespeople. Used car dealers, mechanics, technicians tend to give people a bad taste in their mouth because there is a feeling that these professions are only for those who like to swindle others out of money.
Our nation’s greatest pastime is is not baseball but debating how much money the government should be requesting in taxes.
Few of us liked to be asked for money.
We face an economy that is recovering at a pace that tries our nation’s patience. We have heard of churches and nonprofits who ask for money only to later to be discovered that the money goes to line the pockets of the organizational leaders.
We are bombarded with letters in the mail to support this group, send money to this cause, contribute to the alumni association, or sponsor someone who is racing to cure a disease. We are “hit up” for our change by the bearded homeless with styrofoam cups to the bearded santa with a red kettles; to feed the starving in the developing world to the malnourished in our own community.
Few of us liked to be asked for money.
I want to tell you a story about a woman who was fed up with these groups and people asking her for money. She was tired of feeling guilty for not giving to one organization while she gave to another. She was tired of constantly being asked for money, because we all know, few of us liked to be asked for money.
She decided that she was not going to to give to anything. Not a dime to a march, not a dollar for a disease. She was not going to even pay her taxes and she would refuse to give money to a homeless person. She decided that she would cut off all her contributions because she was sick to the core about hearing how some people took advantage of a system and took advantage of the charity that was given.
She was tired of freeloaders and she was going to become a loner to society. She would spend her money on only that which she needed or wanted. She was going to fend for herself his this world. She did not give help and she would not ask for help. She was going to be a self made person.
And life was good. After a few months of being a loner, no one bothered her for money. No more phone calls, no more mailings. She would walk down the street to her work and the homeless would see her coming and look her by. The organizations she supported in the past no longer contacted her. She was free. Free from guilt and anxiety. Free from taxes and anyone asking her for help.
She was a loner. Really, she was just alone.
No one came by. No one sought her help or advice. No one thought of her when she was sick or even when she had a joy to share. No one knocked on her door for sugar or asked her to pick up their mail watch their pet. Yes, she was a loner alright. She was utterly alone.
Most of us do not like phone solicitors or door to door salespeople. Used car dealers, mechanics, technicians tend to give people a bad taste in their mouth because there is a feeling that these professions are only for those who like to swindle others out of money.
Our nation’s greatest pastime is is not baseball but debating how much money the government should be requesting in taxes.
Few of us liked to be asked for money.
We face an economy that is recovering at a pace that tries our nation’s patience. We have heard of churches and nonprofits who ask for money only to later to be discovered that the money goes to line the pockets of the organizational leaders.
We are bombarded with letters in the mail to support this group, send money to this cause, contribute to the alumni association, or sponsor someone who is racing to cure a disease. We are “hit up” for our change by the bearded homeless with styrofoam cups to the bearded santa with a red kettles; to feed the starving in the developing world to the malnourished in our own community.
Few of us liked to be asked for money.
I want to tell you a story about a woman who was fed up with these groups and people asking her for money. She was tired of feeling guilty for not giving to one organization while she gave to another. She was tired of constantly being asked for money, because we all know, few of us liked to be asked for money.
She decided that she was not going to to give to anything. Not a dime to a march, not a dollar for a disease. She was not going to even pay her taxes and she would refuse to give money to a homeless person. She decided that she would cut off all her contributions because she was sick to the core about hearing how some people took advantage of a system and took advantage of the charity that was given.
She was tired of freeloaders and she was going to become a loner to society. She would spend her money on only that which she needed or wanted. She was going to fend for herself his this world. She did not give help and she would not ask for help. She was going to be a self made person.
And life was good. After a few months of being a loner, no one bothered her for money. No more phone calls, no more mailings. She would walk down the street to her work and the homeless would see her coming and look her by. The organizations she supported in the past no longer contacted her. She was free. Free from guilt and anxiety. Free from taxes and anyone asking her for help.
She was a loner. Really, she was just alone.
No one came by. No one sought her help or advice. No one thought of her when she was sick or even when she had a joy to share. No one knocked on her door for sugar or asked her to pick up their mail watch their pet. Yes, she was a loner alright. She was utterly alone.
Zero-sum, all-you-can-eat and Christianity
Some people feel that there is a scarcity in the world. News of few jobs, few natural resources and diminishing opportunities affirm this sense that the world is running out of “stuff.” Other people feel that there is an abundance in the world. The ease to spend beyond one’s means, enjoy all-you-can eat-buffets and the endless supply of information on the internet affirm this sense of abundance -- that we can have our cake and eat it too.
Christians are called by Jesus to embrace a third view of the world: there is enough. When Jesus teaches us to pray for our daily bread, he teaches us not to worry we will run out of food or conversely be irresponsible with over-indulgence. Jesus teaches us to trust that, through God, we will have enough. Having the view of “enough” is a position of faith in God.
These three different worldviews affect the way we live in the world. A worldview of scarcity can lead us to despair and hopelessness. A worldview of abundance can lead us to rely on our own abilities in order to “store up” a surplus and take more than our share of resources. The Christian view of enough calls us to trust that the God who has provided for people in all times and places will provide for us today. We do not despair and we are not irresponsible. Instead, we hold fast to our God of daily bread.
Applauding sacrificial service
When a military person stands, we all clap. Even those who are pacifist will clap because they recognize the sacrificial service - even if the person is actually against war all together.
We applaud those who serve our world and nation in ways that are "above and beyond". We would want our children to be willing to work in the world for causes that transcend the individual. Values such as service, freedom, selflessness, justice and hope are values that we all can affirm. Which is why we clap when the military stands up.
I wonder why we do not have the same sense of applause when someone in the Peace Corps stands up?
Be the change by Jason Valendy is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.