40 Days 40 Gifts Day 4

So, in light of the revelations of Day 3 I decided to dedicate Day 4 to letting go of money and interrogating the hold that money has over us. As I mentioned in Day 3’s blog, I was a little taken aback by my lack of willingness to part with R50 so I gave it some thought. It seems to me that we are socialized to hold onto what we have – our possessions and our money – and to fiercely protect it.

This is something we take for granted – the idea of ownership. The idea of land being ours to own for example is in fact a relatively new phenomenon. Previously land was ours to steward – to look after and to make productive for our survival, but ultimately to be returned to the community for the next generation. That got me thinking, isn’t this notion of PRIVATE property, of ownership ultimately what drives the fact that so many people have so little? If we were to hold onto the concept of stewardship then we only make use of what we NEED to survive – that leaves more for others to also use to survive. Stewardship relies on the concept of trusting others to also use what they have for the good of all, and committing to using what I have for the good of all, so that when we have a bad time of it, there is surplus to be shared. But if we OWN something then we want to own more and more, and make sure that we secure our own future and the future of those closest to us, never mind the future of others. This is when it becomes a whole lot harder to part with what we have – because it threatens our survival.

But in actual fact, parting with what we have does not threaten our survival. Parting with R50 for me will not mean that I can no longer survive until the end of the month. I know that I am assured of a roof over my head, fuel in my car and food in the fridge until pay day. So in actuality, parting with R50 or even R150 shouldn’t be a big deal. And yet it was. Day 4 was about giving money to those in need – car guards and beggars. I parted with a total of R150 and felt very uncomfortable about it all day. Unrealistic worry set in about whether I was giving too much. Surely there shouldn’t be a worry about giving too much – we should be far more worried about giving too little.

So I am journeying with Jesus’ reflections for us on the birds and the flowers (Matt 6:25-33):

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 3herefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
So lesson 4: I am a product of the society in which I was brought up in which places value on private ownership. For me to give joyfully I need to be able to let go of more of what I own and trust that God will provide for me – this is not something I am going to be able to achieve overnight, or even perhaps in the next 36 days. This might be a lifelong journey.

In order to do this I will need to reflect on the three inner attitudes of simplicity that Richard Foster notes: 1) To receive what we have as a gift from God; 2) To know that it is God’s business, and not ours, to care for what we have and 3) To have our goods freely available to others.