a few days ago, some of us had a meeting with brian and spence who work for compassion international. of course, the bloggers trip to uganda came up and i can’t believe it’s been nine months since i stepped onto african soil for my first time. it seems like a lifetime ago, but at the same time, it seems like it was just yesterday.
speaking of yesterday, i met an audio engineer on my flight to grand rapids. somehow, we got on to the topic of where americans spend money, and what our responsibility is to help others and i told him about my trip to uganda. i shared with him my breaking moment of stepping into annette’s house, where six people lived in a 6×6 room. that her rent was $9 a month and she was having trouble keeping up. i had probably spent $9 in the airport for my breakfast.
the opportunities for us to do a world of good in a world of scarcity are endless.
many people in the states are feeling the pressure of a maybe-almost recession. people are losing their jobs and their homes. yet i wonder if we will ever truly get to an economical state where we really discover need versus want. even here in america, it blows my mind that we have such an imbalance in our distribution of wealth. that there is so much homelessness and poverty, yet most of us can still comfortably afford a $3 cup of coffee or a $40 meal out. that most of us don’t think twice about spending $200 on a christmas tree or $75 on a pair of jeans.
i’m not sure what all this means…except that i am hoping we are all waking up. we’re waking up realizing we’re not alone, and none of us are guaranteed a safety net woven together with five dollar bills. that while we have it good, we should help others. because in the next moment, we may be the ones in need.
how can we do this? it’s counter-cultural. downsizing, living with less intentionally, and giving more to others. not putting quite so much stock into our 401k and maybe putting more into our neighbor who just lost his job.
idealistic? maybe. but i have hope in mankind. i think (and pray, really, really pray) that we’ll do the right thing, even now…as we sip our lattes and sleep safely in our cozy, heated homes. we can do it.
Comments
16 responses to “abandoning our safety nets”
This has been on my heart and in my mind SO much over this past year. I want so much to downsize and truly live a life of sacrificial love…but when the rubber meets the road it’s a whole ‘nother story. Why is this so hard to do?! Can I pull this off in the culture I live in? I hope so….I pray so.
that’ll preach, my TN friend!
I agree. Don’t know what it all means but it is disturbing to say the least.
How is it that we are so lucky to have been born in American. So many people work all day to make what we make in 60 minutes, or 30 minutes, even 5 minutes. It’s crazy.
I read a good article the other day on God’s Politics about how economic recessions can bring about a good change through raising awareness and re-standardizing our lifestyles. We have gotten out of control in America.
Smart consumerism is the next hot topic I think. We all need to become more aware of how much we consume, how much we over eat, how much we throw away, how much we buy and then forget about what we just bought. I think about it every time I shop now – not that it’s changed, but I’m aware of it.
I’m cheap and love getting a cheap printed tshirt from Target – but 10 bucks some slave-like employee in China had to make it. It is wrong.
I spent a whole summer in Uganda before Rob and I were married and it changed my life forever.
In 2006 Rob and I, along with our oldest daughter were able to visit our Compassion Intl. daughter in India. Seeing the horrible poverty this sweet little girl, her mom and 3 siblings lived in changed all of us forever. My daughter is now 10, and has a very unique perspective and worldview when she hears people complaining about the recession or not having enough stuff.
Thanks for keeping our eyes open to the poverty around the world Anne. You truly are making a difference.
I am a person who likes to live simplistically, but I know I do that with my own set of wants remaining intact. Over the past year, I feel like God is really pushing me to see my world around me in a new way – to live generously, to love generously, and to give generously.
I am days away from having a baby (a little girl we didn’t know if we would ever conceive), and the reality of the world I am bringing her in to makes me want to show her an alternative to what I know. I want to show her a mother who strives to love people (known and unknown to her) in a way that shows them “God first, me last”.
Thanks for continuing to provide us opportunities to do this and live a different kind of life.
Thanks for these thoughts Anne. Scarcity certainly does make you re-evaluate the way you use the resources God has given you. Also helps you to value what you do have in a new way. I never thanked God for gasoline until it took me 3 hours to find a station that had any gas a few weeks back…
Just had a conversation with a guy in full time ministry who asked me to pray for him due to his support funds drying up. Wondered aloud with him if God may be using this to squeeze some of his servants back out into the marketplace?
I don’t think it’s idealistic, I think it’s true. Even as scarce as I try to live I still buy so much more then I actually need when I really step back and look at it.
Great post, a lot of chew on and motivate to action
This the work God is doing deep within my heart…….my first step was to begin the GiveWorship Project – and to eat out less and less.
Anne,
I’ve had this same conversation at least 4 times in the past week (and blogged about it once). Your post was very timely for me. I made my first international trip this summer when I went to Guatemala with a group from the church where I’m on staff. It has changed everything about my perspective.
I read Francis Chan’s book Crazy Love a couple of weeks ago, and ever since then, I can’t escape these thoughts & conversations. I’m being challenged in a big way right now. I too hope the Church wakes up from it’s slumber and takes responsibility for those in need around the corner, and across the globe.
Great Post!
maybe the greater issue is that we actually have no safety nets at all. we have convinced ourselves that we do, but in reality we don’t
take the 401K safety net example – how’s that worked out for ya lately? or the nice house that stretched your budget to the max, well, you do need a nice place for you cars you know.
we have no safety net other than God’s grace thru Christ….
a wise man once told me two things which i have chosen to live by:
1) the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away
2) don’t hog it, it’s not yours anyway (see #1)
many, many people are seeing their imaginary safety nets blown away right now – the realignment of reality is taking place right before our eyes. but will we learn anything as a society – and will we accept the Biblical truth of God’s wealth (see #2) – or will we dig in deeper and clasp our greedy little hands even tighter on things that just don’t matter because we are so afraid that God just doesn’t quite cut it and we need more things to make up for His ineptness at taking care of us?
One of the most intriguing church mission statement and value statements is along this line. http://www.brcc.com in San Antonio is being intentional about such things and they say it in their core statements. Thanks for the reminder, Anne.
Great post Anne. I do believe this can and will happen. We can give more! We can downsize! We can implement plans as a church to model this. We have no choice if we want to make a real impact in this world.
good thoughts mrs. jackson. we can do something. the big picture is overwhelming to me, but i am learning that if we all focus on one neighbor, one mission home, one orphanage, one village, one neighborhood…we can truly see change.
i think alot of people are right here with you on these thoughts. if you & your husband are in austin…let us know…maris & i want to take you guys to dinner.
Great thoughts there!
I really hope that I can downsize, as a matter of fact, I already have startied.
The biggest “equalizer” I’ve seen in this country was when I went to Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. It didn’t matter whether the home was a “shack” or a “mansion” or anything in between…they were all reduced to a slab of concrete. I look around as people complain around this town and they just don’t get it—complaining that they can’t go on big vacations or buy a new car…it’s sad, and frustrating!!
It is so totally possible. I promise it is. We feed kids every single day for $.06 a day….hundreds and hundreds of them. It is totally possible.