40 Days 40 Gifts Day 5

The theme of Day 3 and 4 is still bugging me so bear with me as I reflect on this a little more. Today my gift was to the group of young adults that went river rafting over the weekend. Each person contributed money towards breakfast, snacks and lunch but I decided to go over budget a little to make sure that the food we had was enough and enjoyable. As I was doing the shopping again there was the worry – am I leaving enough for me to survive until the end of the month (just a reminder to self – this is an unrealistic worry. For many it might be a realistic worry but for me it is socially constructed)?

I have to admit that giving to people I know was a lot easier than giving to people I don’t know. And I realized why. When I was giving money yesterday a person I was with in the car criticized my decision to give money instead of food. His argument was that you never know what a person will do with that money. Fair argument and one that many of us buy into. It is also probably the explanation as to why I am more comfortable giving to people I know – because you know how that gift is being used. But here’s the problem with the argument. The third inner attitude of simplicity is: Make what you have FREELY available to others. If I treat the money I give as a GIFT rather than a DONATION then I can not have control over how it is used. When we give birthday gifts we don’t give them with a condition of how they should be used or enjoyed. We give them freely. When we give money to people on the side of the road however we expect that the money should be used productively – for food and not cigarettes. We expect that because we have more and deign to hand over some of it that we should also control how it is used. Money gives us a sense of power over others. I didn’t like to admit that to myself, but I do hold onto it. When I give money I expect it to be used as I would see fit, not as the person I am giving it to sees fit. However, if I am truly giving it as a gift then there should be absolutely no strings attached. When we physically hand over the money we need to also emotionally detach from it – it is no longer mine to control.

Jesus reflects on this in Luke 6:30: “Give to everyone who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.”
Jesus is calling on me to have as Foster puts it “carefree unconcern for possessions.” I need to learn to let go of my hold on possessions and money.

Lesson 5: Money gives me a sense of power over others who don’t have money. This is affects my ability to see the humanity and equal worth of all people.

REFERENCE: Foster, R. (1989) Celebration of discipline. Hodder & Stoughton: UK