Today is Dikwankwetla day. That means that I get to give a little time and a little skill in making a library an inviting place for young children at Sikwankwetla school in Soweto. Giving this time is in many ways easy for me since I love reading, and I love books and I love the idea of making those things available to young children who would otherwise have little opportunity to develop a love of reading.
So today I roped Beert in and we went to fetch a whole lot of broken down cupboard doors that will now be turned into shelves for the library.
What struck me about this moment – and this is a lesson in simplicity – is the resourcefulness of the school we are working with. If I had pulled those cupboards out I probably would have simply chucked the wood out. After all it was a little warped, they were uneven lengths, the rats had been living in it and it had so many nails in it that it was going to take ages to get it looking halfway decent. And yet the school had insisted on keeping the wood in case they needed it, which is just as well because we don’t have the budget to buy new shelves for the school.
Somehow every time I visit the school I am overwhelmed by a sense of warmth. The school grows its own veggies with which it feeds the children daily, it makes do with the few classrooms it has – many of them are missing windows and desks, and the teachers are so dedicated and are so excited about meeting us on a Saturday to help with upgrading the library. It is truly inspiring and something we could all learn a lot from.
Perhaps this is why Jesus tells us that the poor shall inherit the earth, because they really know how to care for it.
Lesson 21: We don’t know the value of stuff until we place ourselves in a situation where there is very little stuff.
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 18 - 20
I’m still doing the giving little things thing at the moment. And funnily enough I’m finding spiritual revelation even in those little things, mainly because I’m reflecting on my lack of willingness to step up to the plate on the bigger gifts.
This was all revealed to me in a rather tense week of reflection and worry. Last week I heard that I have received a scholarship that will allow me to give up work and study full time for the next 2 years towards my PhD. This was wonderful news of course and I did celebrate it with family. But this week reality hit as I received the contract which stipulated exactly how many hours I could work (12 a week) and at what rate (significantly less than what I am earning now). So basically I was faced with the reality of having to take a serious cut in my standard of living – something anyone else in my boat would have seen as a willing sacrifice to make for the chance at studying full time again. Not me, I have spent the past three days stressing about how I am going to meet my monthly expenses and obligations, and (yes I hate to admit it) how I am going to tell my friends that I can’t come out for that cocktail and I may not be able to join you on that dive trip this year.
So here I was faced with the real dilemma – will God provide for me? Like he does for the sparrows and the flowers (Matthew 6)? And I hate to admit that I found myself seriously lacking in the department of faith on this one. If I couldn’t do something to make sure I was earning enough money to cover my expenses how on earth was God going to provide for me?
But it seems his blessings really do abound. Without my expecting it, things have fallen into place. Somehow my discussions with the scholarship office and my boss (I had to resign from my job) went really well and as it turns out I will not be in the horrible financial position I thought I was going to be. I will have less money coming into my account than previously but it won’t be significantly less.
So there are a couple of lessons here (since we are covering a couple of days):
Lesson 18: When we are faced with the real prospect of financial woes we realise that we are not in control of everything. God has bigger plans.
Lesson 19: I can’t help reflecting on the fact that I was worried about a slight loss in earnings when so many people have absolutely nothing – which just goes to show how when we are tied to money, we don’t necessarily allow our best to shine through – no wonder Jesus equated the love of money with Mammon.
Lesson 20: God blesses, even when we don’t have faith. He blesses undeservedly. Which is what grace is I guess
This was all revealed to me in a rather tense week of reflection and worry. Last week I heard that I have received a scholarship that will allow me to give up work and study full time for the next 2 years towards my PhD. This was wonderful news of course and I did celebrate it with family. But this week reality hit as I received the contract which stipulated exactly how many hours I could work (12 a week) and at what rate (significantly less than what I am earning now). So basically I was faced with the reality of having to take a serious cut in my standard of living – something anyone else in my boat would have seen as a willing sacrifice to make for the chance at studying full time again. Not me, I have spent the past three days stressing about how I am going to meet my monthly expenses and obligations, and (yes I hate to admit it) how I am going to tell my friends that I can’t come out for that cocktail and I may not be able to join you on that dive trip this year.
So here I was faced with the real dilemma – will God provide for me? Like he does for the sparrows and the flowers (Matthew 6)? And I hate to admit that I found myself seriously lacking in the department of faith on this one. If I couldn’t do something to make sure I was earning enough money to cover my expenses how on earth was God going to provide for me?
But it seems his blessings really do abound. Without my expecting it, things have fallen into place. Somehow my discussions with the scholarship office and my boss (I had to resign from my job) went really well and as it turns out I will not be in the horrible financial position I thought I was going to be. I will have less money coming into my account than previously but it won’t be significantly less.
So there are a couple of lessons here (since we are covering a couple of days):
Lesson 18: When we are faced with the real prospect of financial woes we realise that we are not in control of everything. God has bigger plans.
Lesson 19: I can’t help reflecting on the fact that I was worried about a slight loss in earnings when so many people have absolutely nothing – which just goes to show how when we are tied to money, we don’t necessarily allow our best to shine through – no wonder Jesus equated the love of money with Mammon.
Lesson 20: God blesses, even when we don’t have faith. He blesses undeservedly. Which is what grace is I guess
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 17
Funny how God sends things to read when we choose to focus on something. I lecture on Thursday evenings and last Thursday I picked up an article that the previous lecturer had left in the venue. It’s entitled “Posessions and Extended Self” by Russell Belk and was written in 1988. In it he writes “Our fragile sense of self needs support, and this we get by having and possessing things because, to a large degree, we are what we have and possess.” He goes on to make a 21 page argument about how we are “the sum of our possessions.” Granted it was published in the Journal of Consumer Research but they published it! I was initially astounded. But then I started thinking about the truth of his words.
Think about yesterday’s blog in which I admit to the fact that I buy clothes, not based on how useful they are or how much I need them, but on what they say about me. Our clothes are an expression of our person-ality. Even if we don’t wear wildly over the top clothes, what we choose to wear is still an expression of who we are. The same goes for our houses. I (half) bought a house last year and spent many hours considering what this small space would say about me. I didn’t want to invite people around until I had the right pictures hanging and the right bits and bobs on my bookshelf. Don’t get me wrong, I love the space I have created for myself but that doesn’t change the fact that my possessions are an expression of who I am. That is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but what struck me about this article is that so often we come to define ourselves only by our possessions and not by our acts. And I think that in part drives our need to consume consume consume. And then we forget about the other things that fill and bless our lives. Did you know that when 9/11 happened in America, President Bush (oh he of so much sage advice) advised the people of America to deal with their grief by… wait for it… shopping! Not spending time with one another, not crying or remembering, but by shopping. So perhaps Belk was spot on 22 years ago.
LESSON 17: We need to find our sense of self in God, not in what we own.
I know there is certainly a kernel of truth in it for me. Something I don’t really like to admit. Got to get to that wardrobe clean out…
Think about yesterday’s blog in which I admit to the fact that I buy clothes, not based on how useful they are or how much I need them, but on what they say about me. Our clothes are an expression of our person-ality. Even if we don’t wear wildly over the top clothes, what we choose to wear is still an expression of who we are. The same goes for our houses. I (half) bought a house last year and spent many hours considering what this small space would say about me. I didn’t want to invite people around until I had the right pictures hanging and the right bits and bobs on my bookshelf. Don’t get me wrong, I love the space I have created for myself but that doesn’t change the fact that my possessions are an expression of who I am. That is not necessarily a bad thing in and of itself, but what struck me about this article is that so often we come to define ourselves only by our possessions and not by our acts. And I think that in part drives our need to consume consume consume. And then we forget about the other things that fill and bless our lives. Did you know that when 9/11 happened in America, President Bush (oh he of so much sage advice) advised the people of America to deal with their grief by… wait for it… shopping! Not spending time with one another, not crying or remembering, but by shopping. So perhaps Belk was spot on 22 years ago.
LESSON 17: We need to find our sense of self in God, not in what we own.
I know there is certainly a kernel of truth in it for me. Something I don’t really like to admit. Got to get to that wardrobe clean out…
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 16
In my last blog I spoke about the gift of time. But I have to ask myself if giving time made mine disappear? What happened between Day 15 and today? Time seems to have vanished. So my apologies that there have been such delays in updating the blog. I intend to catch up today.
I must say that as I head towards the halfway mark of Lent I’m finding this gift thing harder and harder. Perhaps it’s partly because I put pressure on myself to give gifts that are a little out of the ordinary (i.e. not something I would normally do). That in part undermines the giving we do every day. I know that on Day 13 I spoke about the little gifts we give. And I stand by what I said - that those little gifts are really important each and every day because they keep us connected as human beings. But I can’t help berating myself for not pushing myself to give a little more. After all, Lent is supposed to be challenging, otherwise what growth do we achieve? I found myself filled with ideas of gifts at the beginning of the lent period, but since then those ideas have wittled down.
Perhaps that is because there is one gift I know I have to give this lent and something is holding me back from doing it. Remember on Day 1 I blogged about what inspired me to do this 40 Days and 40 Gifts thing in the first place? On that day, I was opened my wardrobe and saw it through the eyes of my domestic worker and I was shocked at how many clothes I have. So at some point this lent I have to sit down and clear out most of those clothes. Some of them I have sentimental attachments to. Some of them (I know all the ladies reading this can sympathise) I hope to fit into again one day. And some of them I never wear simply because I would love to have the confidence to wear them – they project an image of who I might be. But when I put them on I never feel comfortable, like myself. I think those might be the hardest to part with.
I think that’s perhaps why we are so uncomfortable with the verses in Matthew 6 about God providing for the flowers and the birds. We might even go so far as to trust that God will provide for us whatever we NEED. But letting go of the things we WANT, the things that demonstrate to the world “who we are”, well that’s quite another thing.
So today I embark on the spiritual spiritual distancing I need to do and then I will work towards the physical act of clearing out those clothes and giving them to people who need them far more than I do. And in the meantime I’m sticking to giving little things each day.
LESSON 16: We need to nourish who we are on the inside rather than expressing who we are through posessions
Wish me luck and watch this space…
I must say that as I head towards the halfway mark of Lent I’m finding this gift thing harder and harder. Perhaps it’s partly because I put pressure on myself to give gifts that are a little out of the ordinary (i.e. not something I would normally do). That in part undermines the giving we do every day. I know that on Day 13 I spoke about the little gifts we give. And I stand by what I said - that those little gifts are really important each and every day because they keep us connected as human beings. But I can’t help berating myself for not pushing myself to give a little more. After all, Lent is supposed to be challenging, otherwise what growth do we achieve? I found myself filled with ideas of gifts at the beginning of the lent period, but since then those ideas have wittled down.
Perhaps that is because there is one gift I know I have to give this lent and something is holding me back from doing it. Remember on Day 1 I blogged about what inspired me to do this 40 Days and 40 Gifts thing in the first place? On that day, I was opened my wardrobe and saw it through the eyes of my domestic worker and I was shocked at how many clothes I have. So at some point this lent I have to sit down and clear out most of those clothes. Some of them I have sentimental attachments to. Some of them (I know all the ladies reading this can sympathise) I hope to fit into again one day. And some of them I never wear simply because I would love to have the confidence to wear them – they project an image of who I might be. But when I put them on I never feel comfortable, like myself. I think those might be the hardest to part with.
I think that’s perhaps why we are so uncomfortable with the verses in Matthew 6 about God providing for the flowers and the birds. We might even go so far as to trust that God will provide for us whatever we NEED. But letting go of the things we WANT, the things that demonstrate to the world “who we are”, well that’s quite another thing.
So today I embark on the spiritual spiritual distancing I need to do and then I will work towards the physical act of clearing out those clothes and giving them to people who need them far more than I do. And in the meantime I’m sticking to giving little things each day.
LESSON 16: We need to nourish who we are on the inside rather than expressing who we are through posessions
Wish me luck and watch this space…
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 14 & 15
Day 14 and 15 – the gift of time…
Over the past two days I gave the same gift twice – homemade banana cheesecake – on day 14 to friends and on day 15 to Beert’s family. But when I reflected on these gifts I realised that it wasn’t so much the gift of cheesecake (although it was yummy, even if I do say so myself). Rather it was the gift of time.
It’s striking how often food goes hand in hand with spending time with people – family dinners, company functions, and how many bible studies are spent around tea or dinner? Jesus also spent time with friends and family over food – He started his ministry at the wedding feast, he ate most meals with his disciples, teaching them as he did, and of course, he ended his earthly ministry over the Passover meal – the Last Supper. Jesus realised the value of spending time with people.
Beert’s family does this well – they eat meals together as often as they can and almost every weekend they all get together for tea. It’s something I value in my family too – family meals where we got a chance to catch up.
Scheduling a dinner date, or a cup of coffee forces us to take time out of our busy schedules in order to fully focus on the people we are with.
LESSON 14: Eat with people a little more, gym and work a little less (Don’t let SHAPE magazine get hold of this one) and give the people close to you a little more of your time.
LESSON 15: Spending time with others is equally about giving yourself gifts.
Over the past two days I gave the same gift twice – homemade banana cheesecake – on day 14 to friends and on day 15 to Beert’s family. But when I reflected on these gifts I realised that it wasn’t so much the gift of cheesecake (although it was yummy, even if I do say so myself). Rather it was the gift of time.
It’s striking how often food goes hand in hand with spending time with people – family dinners, company functions, and how many bible studies are spent around tea or dinner? Jesus also spent time with friends and family over food – He started his ministry at the wedding feast, he ate most meals with his disciples, teaching them as he did, and of course, he ended his earthly ministry over the Passover meal – the Last Supper. Jesus realised the value of spending time with people.
Beert’s family does this well – they eat meals together as often as they can and almost every weekend they all get together for tea. It’s something I value in my family too – family meals where we got a chance to catch up.
Scheduling a dinner date, or a cup of coffee forces us to take time out of our busy schedules in order to fully focus on the people we are with.
LESSON 14: Eat with people a little more, gym and work a little less (Don’t let SHAPE magazine get hold of this one) and give the people close to you a little more of your time.
LESSON 15: Spending time with others is equally about giving yourself gifts.
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 13
Today I had another day of not giving any gifts. I can’t tell you why – there isn’t a particular reason except that I just overlooked it during the day. But one thing I did reflect on today was how many gifts I receive – small gifts and larger gifts. Over the weekend I was in Cape Town for a meeting. I stayed with my aunt and uncle and visited a good friend who recently moved down to Cape Town. And in the two days I was there I received so many gifts.
First up was the gift of a place to stay which my aunt and uncle graciously provided along with great food, many cups of coffee and good conversation. Then there was the gift of a bed which my cousin provided when she gave up her bedroom (she had to share with her brother) so I could have a place to sleep. On Sunday afternoon I was treated to a lovely picnic lunch on the beach and a beautiful bottle of wine, everything fully catered by my friends Lisa and Zane. I received so many gifts this weekend, and it made me feel so special.
It also made me realise how difficult it is sometimes to accept gifts. Not so much at the time of one’s birthday but receiving gifts from people for no reason at all is sometimes difficult. Do you for instance battle to accept a compliment? I know I do? Or when friends invite you around for dinner, do you feel the need to reciprocate? Why do find it do difficult to receive? I’m not sure I know why. Perhaps it is just a personal fault rather than a widespread trend but this weekend I found myself for the first time in a long time graciously accepting what was given to me – accepting them as gifts. So thank you to everyone who made my weekend in Cape Town so great.
LESSON 13 – We need to learn to recognise and accept the many gifts we are given each and every day.
First up was the gift of a place to stay which my aunt and uncle graciously provided along with great food, many cups of coffee and good conversation. Then there was the gift of a bed which my cousin provided when she gave up her bedroom (she had to share with her brother) so I could have a place to sleep. On Sunday afternoon I was treated to a lovely picnic lunch on the beach and a beautiful bottle of wine, everything fully catered by my friends Lisa and Zane. I received so many gifts this weekend, and it made me feel so special.
It also made me realise how difficult it is sometimes to accept gifts. Not so much at the time of one’s birthday but receiving gifts from people for no reason at all is sometimes difficult. Do you for instance battle to accept a compliment? I know I do? Or when friends invite you around for dinner, do you feel the need to reciprocate? Why do find it do difficult to receive? I’m not sure I know why. Perhaps it is just a personal fault rather than a widespread trend but this weekend I found myself for the first time in a long time graciously accepting what was given to me – accepting them as gifts. So thank you to everyone who made my weekend in Cape Town so great.
LESSON 13 – We need to learn to recognise and accept the many gifts we are given each and every day.
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 12
* A quick disclaimer: I know I'm runnning behind and that today is actually Day 19 but I need a little time to reflect on what I'm learning each day. I will try and catch up soon though.
Today I finally got around to doing that CV that I was supposed to do on Day 7. The CV was for the gardener that my parents employ. He is a hard working, dedicated guy who takes initiative and is willing to learn. And yet each day he goes back to his shack in the Primrose informal settlement. He is entrepreneurial, trying to eek small amounts of money out of doing odd jobs here and there, most of which he sends back to his wife and children who live in Polokwane. It’s a typical South Africa story. And it makes my heart ache. Why is it that so many people in South Africa who are dedicated, willing to work and who are committed to their families are unable to find sustainable employment? It just highlighted for me (for the umpteenth time in this journey so far) how much I have to be grateful for. In my immediate family, all of us are employed, between four of us we live in three houses, we have four cars between us and we certainly don’t go without. And yet in this guy’s family, he is the sole breadwinner – he has a shack in an informal settlement, and perhaps a hut in Polokwane, he has no car and yet he is doing everything he can to make sure his children have a better life than he has.
We live in such a crazy, unbalanced, unequal world and one of the ideas behind the discipline of simplicity is to try and contribute towards equalling that out. You see, God does provide – enough for every person in the world. Hunger and poverty arise out of the unequal relations that we as human beings have constructed over time. We know that there is enough food because food that is not consumed by the wealthy gets dumped all the time when it expires. And yet millions live in hunger. We know there is enough to go around because the major diseases of the wealthy are diseases associated with OVERconsumption – heart disease and other chronic illnesses are diseases that are to a large extent associated with over consumption. And yet millions of people die daily from preventable diseases of poverty and underconsumption – cholera, malaria, kwashiorkor and of course starvation.
So God provides enough for us. The problem lies in how we as a human race, and the systems we have created distribute what God has given us. Essentially the problem isn’t one of too much poverty, it’s one of too much wealth. Focusing on simplicity helps us to take cogniscance of what we really need and what is just fluff that we like to hold on to. The uncomfortable question of course is, are some of the things we hold onto denying someone else the basics for life? Is our consumerism undermining the ability of someone else to survive?
LESSON 12: The world’s problem is not too much poverty, it’s too much wealth.
God’s Kingdom is one of abundance. As followers of Christ we must ask the uncomfortable questions about our own attachment to things and what that means for our prayer of “Thy Kingdom come.” Does my attachment to things actively assist a world in which God’s Kingdom reigns or does it undermine that? The early church understood this. In Acts 2: 42-47 we have a wonderful picture of believers praying together, learning and joining in fellowship and in this community they “sold their possessions and goods, they gave to everyone as they had need.” How wonderful would our world be if we all had a little less so that others could have a little more?
Today I finally got around to doing that CV that I was supposed to do on Day 7. The CV was for the gardener that my parents employ. He is a hard working, dedicated guy who takes initiative and is willing to learn. And yet each day he goes back to his shack in the Primrose informal settlement. He is entrepreneurial, trying to eek small amounts of money out of doing odd jobs here and there, most of which he sends back to his wife and children who live in Polokwane. It’s a typical South Africa story. And it makes my heart ache. Why is it that so many people in South Africa who are dedicated, willing to work and who are committed to their families are unable to find sustainable employment? It just highlighted for me (for the umpteenth time in this journey so far) how much I have to be grateful for. In my immediate family, all of us are employed, between four of us we live in three houses, we have four cars between us and we certainly don’t go without. And yet in this guy’s family, he is the sole breadwinner – he has a shack in an informal settlement, and perhaps a hut in Polokwane, he has no car and yet he is doing everything he can to make sure his children have a better life than he has.
We live in such a crazy, unbalanced, unequal world and one of the ideas behind the discipline of simplicity is to try and contribute towards equalling that out. You see, God does provide – enough for every person in the world. Hunger and poverty arise out of the unequal relations that we as human beings have constructed over time. We know that there is enough food because food that is not consumed by the wealthy gets dumped all the time when it expires. And yet millions live in hunger. We know there is enough to go around because the major diseases of the wealthy are diseases associated with OVERconsumption – heart disease and other chronic illnesses are diseases that are to a large extent associated with over consumption. And yet millions of people die daily from preventable diseases of poverty and underconsumption – cholera, malaria, kwashiorkor and of course starvation.
So God provides enough for us. The problem lies in how we as a human race, and the systems we have created distribute what God has given us. Essentially the problem isn’t one of too much poverty, it’s one of too much wealth. Focusing on simplicity helps us to take cogniscance of what we really need and what is just fluff that we like to hold on to. The uncomfortable question of course is, are some of the things we hold onto denying someone else the basics for life? Is our consumerism undermining the ability of someone else to survive?
LESSON 12: The world’s problem is not too much poverty, it’s too much wealth.
God’s Kingdom is one of abundance. As followers of Christ we must ask the uncomfortable questions about our own attachment to things and what that means for our prayer of “Thy Kingdom come.” Does my attachment to things actively assist a world in which God’s Kingdom reigns or does it undermine that? The early church understood this. In Acts 2: 42-47 we have a wonderful picture of believers praying together, learning and joining in fellowship and in this community they “sold their possessions and goods, they gave to everyone as they had need.” How wonderful would our world be if we all had a little less so that others could have a little more?
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 11
I’m not sure if I cheated today or not. I’ll let you be the judge. I flew back to Jozi from Cape Town today and so the day was a little rushed - finishing up the work that had to be done, seeing who I needed to see and finding my way to the airport on time. I found myself sitting on the plane wondering what I was going to give and where to fit it in between being collected from the airport and cooking dinner for my parents.
So I’ve decided that what I gave today was a really nice meal and quality time with my family.
Does it count? Especially given that my mother (when I was living at home) cooked pretty much every day for me?
This got me thinking about how much my mother (and many other mothers) gives each and every day. Each day for my mother was about preparing breakfast for us each morning (and still for my dad), making sure we had lunch packed, preparing dinner for us, most evenings washing dishes if one of us didn’t take that off her hands, and then going back to work in the evenings in order to prepare for the next day (she’s a teacher). Can I really call my gift of a meal a gift when mothers (and some fathers) do this everyday of their lives as part of their role as mother?
This thought highlighted something for me: Mothers are essentially gifts to their children and family. They are gift giving – giving their bodies to create and bear life, giving careers to care for children, giving energy each day to bring up children, giving time to making sure houses are in order, and children and spouses are fed and clothed. So many mothers put themselves second, always giving of themselves to their family. Perhaps being a mother is a journey in giving. Perhaps our mothers have more to teach us than we know.
Perhaps we are totally mistaken in identifying with God as a Father. Perhaps we would find ourselves closer to God’s nature of eternal giving if we were to connect with her as Mother.
LESSON 11: Mothers are angels…
So I’ve decided that what I gave today was a really nice meal and quality time with my family.
Does it count? Especially given that my mother (when I was living at home) cooked pretty much every day for me?
This got me thinking about how much my mother (and many other mothers) gives each and every day. Each day for my mother was about preparing breakfast for us each morning (and still for my dad), making sure we had lunch packed, preparing dinner for us, most evenings washing dishes if one of us didn’t take that off her hands, and then going back to work in the evenings in order to prepare for the next day (she’s a teacher). Can I really call my gift of a meal a gift when mothers (and some fathers) do this everyday of their lives as part of their role as mother?
This thought highlighted something for me: Mothers are essentially gifts to their children and family. They are gift giving – giving their bodies to create and bear life, giving careers to care for children, giving energy each day to bring up children, giving time to making sure houses are in order, and children and spouses are fed and clothed. So many mothers put themselves second, always giving of themselves to their family. Perhaps being a mother is a journey in giving. Perhaps our mothers have more to teach us than we know.
Perhaps we are totally mistaken in identifying with God as a Father. Perhaps we would find ourselves closer to God’s nature of eternal giving if we were to connect with her as Mother.
LESSON 11: Mothers are angels…
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 10
The gift of time… How many of us rush around day to day making sure we fit in gym, work, cooking, cleaning, shopping and a good dose of fun (usually only on weekends thanks very much)? What for? I get that if we are lucky enough to be employed we are expected to work an 8-5 job five days a week and I get that if we don’t there are consequences. But so many of us have become consumed by the economy that we begin to believe we are indispensable. If we don’t turn up at work the project will fall apart around us. We have this sense of self importance that has been ingrained into us over many years.
This I think is very closely linked with this belief that if I don’t do it nobody will, if I don’t earn it, no-one’s going to earn it for me, if I don’t look after myself nobody will. Sadly I think that’s largely true in our society today. The problem doesn’t just lie with me, it lies with all of us. If I can’t take care of myself today or tomorrow I know that someone will care for me because I have a close family but ultimately society expects me to pick myself up and continue contributing to the economy. There is very little patience for continually giving to another. Think for instance of so many of our attitudes towards the social grants system in South Africa. We see it as a case of our tax money going to others who don’t want to work instead of seeing it as an automatic gift giving system that we celebrate.
Now I’m not suggesting that we should all just abandon working and seek to live off handouts. But I do suggest that we start having a healthy scepticism for this “work more and more” economy that drives us to spend less time with family and with God and more time earning money (for what?).
There is a lovely story about the owner of a fishing company who visits a small town in Mexico. Early one morning he meets a man who has just pulled his small fishing boat in after a relatively successful catch and he strikes up a conversation with the fisherman. He asks him what he does for the rest of the day. The fisherman replies that he apportions out the fish, eats with his family, plays with the children and has a siesta. The business man asks him if he wouldn’t like to have two or three boats. That way he says you can catch more fish and sell them off and make some money. What would I do then? Says the fisherman. You could then buy a bigger boat and fish out more fish and make more money. And what would I do then asks the fisherman? You could use the capital that you have made to buy a whole lot of boats and you could become very rich. And what would I do then asks the fisherman? Well, you could retire and spend time playing with your kids and having a siesta…
LESSON 10: Seems we forget that money can’t buy us happiness or time or memories.
Are we addicted to our jobs? The fishing analogy brings to mind Jesus calling his first disciples – themselves fisherman. He asks them to put down their nets (to give up their livelihood, their source of income) and follow Jesus. They do so willingly. I wonder how many of us would be able to give up our fishing nets to do the same? How many of us say we don’t have time to pray or read the bible or come to church or commit to a GIG (bible study)? Perhaps our answer to that gives an indication of how much our work distracts us from seeking God.
I almost forgot to tell you what the gift was: I spent time with a team planning the installation of a library at a school in Soweto – actual work to commence on 13 March. Watch this space…
This I think is very closely linked with this belief that if I don’t do it nobody will, if I don’t earn it, no-one’s going to earn it for me, if I don’t look after myself nobody will. Sadly I think that’s largely true in our society today. The problem doesn’t just lie with me, it lies with all of us. If I can’t take care of myself today or tomorrow I know that someone will care for me because I have a close family but ultimately society expects me to pick myself up and continue contributing to the economy. There is very little patience for continually giving to another. Think for instance of so many of our attitudes towards the social grants system in South Africa. We see it as a case of our tax money going to others who don’t want to work instead of seeing it as an automatic gift giving system that we celebrate.
Now I’m not suggesting that we should all just abandon working and seek to live off handouts. But I do suggest that we start having a healthy scepticism for this “work more and more” economy that drives us to spend less time with family and with God and more time earning money (for what?).
There is a lovely story about the owner of a fishing company who visits a small town in Mexico. Early one morning he meets a man who has just pulled his small fishing boat in after a relatively successful catch and he strikes up a conversation with the fisherman. He asks him what he does for the rest of the day. The fisherman replies that he apportions out the fish, eats with his family, plays with the children and has a siesta. The business man asks him if he wouldn’t like to have two or three boats. That way he says you can catch more fish and sell them off and make some money. What would I do then? Says the fisherman. You could then buy a bigger boat and fish out more fish and make more money. And what would I do then asks the fisherman? You could use the capital that you have made to buy a whole lot of boats and you could become very rich. And what would I do then asks the fisherman? Well, you could retire and spend time playing with your kids and having a siesta…
LESSON 10: Seems we forget that money can’t buy us happiness or time or memories.
Are we addicted to our jobs? The fishing analogy brings to mind Jesus calling his first disciples – themselves fisherman. He asks them to put down their nets (to give up their livelihood, their source of income) and follow Jesus. They do so willingly. I wonder how many of us would be able to give up our fishing nets to do the same? How many of us say we don’t have time to pray or read the bible or come to church or commit to a GIG (bible study)? Perhaps our answer to that gives an indication of how much our work distracts us from seeking God.
I almost forgot to tell you what the gift was: I spent time with a team planning the installation of a library at a school in Soweto – actual work to commence on 13 March. Watch this space…
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 9
Gift giving today was easy – in fact I’d been planning it for two months. I am blessed with a small circle of very good friends – girls I would trust with my life and who have been by my side through many life experiences and many parties. Abbi, Dawn and Kirst are my Charlie’s Angels (one is a redhead, one is a blonde and one is a brunette). Of the three Kirst has been by my side the longest – we met when we were four years old on a jungle gym at nursery school and she’s been stalking me ever since ;p.
It was Kirst’s birthday on the 31 December. The problem was I couldn’t find anything to give her that expressed who she is as a person and how much she means to me. So needless to say the birthday present was handed over two months late at the end of February. I did eventually figure out what to give her and in fact spent two months making part of it.
The difficulty I had in putting this gift got me to thinking… perhaps the hardest people to give gifts to are those closest to us. I’ve already reflected on how difficult it is to give to those we don’t know and truly letting go of what we give as a gift (see Day 5) but giving to those closest is even harder. I know I think for months on end about what to get my parents when birthdays come around, and what to get Beert is another story (his birthday is this month and I’m still clueless!). Gift giving is about expressing how much that person gives to us – how much that person enriches our lives. And it is often so difficult to express that in a gift or a word. Sometimes we just have to settle for saying thank you.
But how often do we do that? It shouldn’t’ wait until birthdays and Christmas, it shouldn’t wait until goodbyes. We need to live a more grateful life, one in which others know how grateful we are for their influence in it. Which is why I’m tagging four special people today – the Charlie’s Angels and Beert. Just to let you all know how special you make my life! Thank you.
LESSON 9: We don’t need things and money to be thoroughly blessed. We need to nurture relationships with those around us.
Love and joy are key fruits of the spirit and Jesus tells us that of all of these, love is the most important. But we struggle to express both joy and love. Each day should be a celebration (joy) of the love we have in our lives. Joy and love are central to the spiritual discipline of simplicity, otherwise it becomes a drag. As Foster writes, “without a joyful spirit of festivity the disciplines become dull, death-breathing tools in the hands of modern Pharisees. Every discipline should be characterised by carefree gaiety and a sense of thanksgiving.” I must admit I’d got to a point in the first couple of days where this giving thing was dragging me down – highlighting all of my inadequacies. Today it was about thanksgiving and celebration. I revelled in gift giving today and I revelled in how much I am blessed.
It was Kirst’s birthday on the 31 December. The problem was I couldn’t find anything to give her that expressed who she is as a person and how much she means to me. So needless to say the birthday present was handed over two months late at the end of February. I did eventually figure out what to give her and in fact spent two months making part of it.
The difficulty I had in putting this gift got me to thinking… perhaps the hardest people to give gifts to are those closest to us. I’ve already reflected on how difficult it is to give to those we don’t know and truly letting go of what we give as a gift (see Day 5) but giving to those closest is even harder. I know I think for months on end about what to get my parents when birthdays come around, and what to get Beert is another story (his birthday is this month and I’m still clueless!). Gift giving is about expressing how much that person gives to us – how much that person enriches our lives. And it is often so difficult to express that in a gift or a word. Sometimes we just have to settle for saying thank you.
But how often do we do that? It shouldn’t’ wait until birthdays and Christmas, it shouldn’t wait until goodbyes. We need to live a more grateful life, one in which others know how grateful we are for their influence in it. Which is why I’m tagging four special people today – the Charlie’s Angels and Beert. Just to let you all know how special you make my life! Thank you.
LESSON 9: We don’t need things and money to be thoroughly blessed. We need to nurture relationships with those around us.
Love and joy are key fruits of the spirit and Jesus tells us that of all of these, love is the most important. But we struggle to express both joy and love. Each day should be a celebration (joy) of the love we have in our lives. Joy and love are central to the spiritual discipline of simplicity, otherwise it becomes a drag. As Foster writes, “without a joyful spirit of festivity the disciplines become dull, death-breathing tools in the hands of modern Pharisees. Every discipline should be characterised by carefree gaiety and a sense of thanksgiving.” I must admit I’d got to a point in the first couple of days where this giving thing was dragging me down – highlighting all of my inadequacies. Today it was about thanksgiving and celebration. I revelled in gift giving today and I revelled in how much I am blessed.
40 Days 40 Gifts Day 8
Today was payday. Which also means it is tithe day. Now usually I tithe out of habit or, if the month looks like it’s going to be a tough one, begrudgingly. This time I had to think more consciously about tithing. Why is tithing seen as an act of worship and dedication to God in Christianity and in most other major religions?
I also have somewhat mixed feelings about tithing. On the one hand I believe wholeheartedly in the power of the church to make a positive difference in the world and that it needs money to be able to do that. On the other hand tithing has for centuries been a form of worship that has been thoroughly abused by the church – starting in the times when the Roman Catholic Church sold indulgences (selling of forgiveness for a certain amount of money and ultimately stimulating the birth of the Protestant church) and being seen through to today’s churches which expect even the poorest of the poor to give generously if they wish to receive prosperity (prosperity theology). I think these attitudes towards giving are very dangerous for two reasons. Firstly they usually only benefit those asking their followers to give – you know what I’m talking about – the beautiful churches situated in spaces where people don’t have stable homes, pastors’ fancy cars driven past people begging on the side of the road. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, what kind of picture does this leave us of God? A God who only blesses us when we give? A God who counts the coins you put into the offertory bag? That’s not the God I’ve come to know and it’s not a God I want to worship.
So what is tithing about and why do I do it? There are a myriad of teachings about tithing but I want to focus on one today – the personal one. There is another tithe coming up before Easter so watch out for the social implications of tithing on Day 33 where I’ll look at why the power of tithing only becomes real when we all tithe and why prosperity theology doesn’t work in our modern day world.
Tithing is about walking with God daily. Let me explain. Traditionally tithing usually refers to giving 10% of our income to others, usually through the church. The teaching comes from Leviticus 27 entitled “Redeeming what is the Lord’s.” Leviticus 27:30 says “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord. It is holy to the Lord.” The 10% comes from the fact that tithe literally means ten. Later in Leviticus 27 we hear the instruction, “let every tenth sheep be dedicated to the Lord.” Giving a tenth of one’s income is difficult and I know I certainly don’t come close to giving a tenth of my income monthly. Giving a tenth of our income means we only have 90% of our income to meet our obligations. So why is this significant spiritually?
Firstly, it means we are recognising that the money we earn is not ours – it is God’s, earned by the fact that our abilities, our education, our skills that earn our income, the land off of which we eat are all God given. Giving 10% reminds us that this money is not ours, but is to be stewarded by us. Secondly, living off 90% (especially when many of us live off 120% of our income monthly) makes us feel the pinch. We have to trust that God will provide for us throughout the month. Now let’s not get this confused – this is not about testing God (more about that on Day 33), it’s about reminding ourselves each and every day that we are in God’s hands. It makes us just a little more conscious of what we have and how much we owe to God. When we are only living off 90% of our income then that pair of shoes we’ve been eyeing suddenly become less important. This means that when we are tithing properly we should not be living in debt. No point in tithing and then using the credit card to buy all of the nice things we can’t afford on our salary – if that’s the case we’re missing the point. Tithing is intimately tied to seeking a life of simplicity where we let go of our attachment to things and money to make way for God in our lives.
This is a tough task in our society of consumerism. Riches are held up, poverty is vilified. As Foster writes, “The modern hero is the poor boy who purposefully becomes rich rather than the rich boy who voluntarily becomes poor. Covetousness we call ambition. Hoarding we call prudence. Greed we call industry.” We live in a society that encourages us to accumulate, accumulate, accumulate (check out this video for a little more on how we are kept in this cycle: www.storyofstuff.com). Giving 10% of our income brings us back to reality. It goes to the heart of simplicity – to recognise that what we have is a gift from God and to know that it is God’s business to watch out for our needs daily (that’s why we pray “Give us this day our daily bread”).
LESSON 8: Tithing encourages us to “courageously articulate new more human ways to live.” It teaches us to trust in God daily.
I also have somewhat mixed feelings about tithing. On the one hand I believe wholeheartedly in the power of the church to make a positive difference in the world and that it needs money to be able to do that. On the other hand tithing has for centuries been a form of worship that has been thoroughly abused by the church – starting in the times when the Roman Catholic Church sold indulgences (selling of forgiveness for a certain amount of money and ultimately stimulating the birth of the Protestant church) and being seen through to today’s churches which expect even the poorest of the poor to give generously if they wish to receive prosperity (prosperity theology). I think these attitudes towards giving are very dangerous for two reasons. Firstly they usually only benefit those asking their followers to give – you know what I’m talking about – the beautiful churches situated in spaces where people don’t have stable homes, pastors’ fancy cars driven past people begging on the side of the road. Secondly and perhaps most importantly, what kind of picture does this leave us of God? A God who only blesses us when we give? A God who counts the coins you put into the offertory bag? That’s not the God I’ve come to know and it’s not a God I want to worship.
So what is tithing about and why do I do it? There are a myriad of teachings about tithing but I want to focus on one today – the personal one. There is another tithe coming up before Easter so watch out for the social implications of tithing on Day 33 where I’ll look at why the power of tithing only becomes real when we all tithe and why prosperity theology doesn’t work in our modern day world.
Tithing is about walking with God daily. Let me explain. Traditionally tithing usually refers to giving 10% of our income to others, usually through the church. The teaching comes from Leviticus 27 entitled “Redeeming what is the Lord’s.” Leviticus 27:30 says “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord. It is holy to the Lord.” The 10% comes from the fact that tithe literally means ten. Later in Leviticus 27 we hear the instruction, “let every tenth sheep be dedicated to the Lord.” Giving a tenth of one’s income is difficult and I know I certainly don’t come close to giving a tenth of my income monthly. Giving a tenth of our income means we only have 90% of our income to meet our obligations. So why is this significant spiritually?
Firstly, it means we are recognising that the money we earn is not ours – it is God’s, earned by the fact that our abilities, our education, our skills that earn our income, the land off of which we eat are all God given. Giving 10% reminds us that this money is not ours, but is to be stewarded by us. Secondly, living off 90% (especially when many of us live off 120% of our income monthly) makes us feel the pinch. We have to trust that God will provide for us throughout the month. Now let’s not get this confused – this is not about testing God (more about that on Day 33), it’s about reminding ourselves each and every day that we are in God’s hands. It makes us just a little more conscious of what we have and how much we owe to God. When we are only living off 90% of our income then that pair of shoes we’ve been eyeing suddenly become less important. This means that when we are tithing properly we should not be living in debt. No point in tithing and then using the credit card to buy all of the nice things we can’t afford on our salary – if that’s the case we’re missing the point. Tithing is intimately tied to seeking a life of simplicity where we let go of our attachment to things and money to make way for God in our lives.
This is a tough task in our society of consumerism. Riches are held up, poverty is vilified. As Foster writes, “The modern hero is the poor boy who purposefully becomes rich rather than the rich boy who voluntarily becomes poor. Covetousness we call ambition. Hoarding we call prudence. Greed we call industry.” We live in a society that encourages us to accumulate, accumulate, accumulate (check out this video for a little more on how we are kept in this cycle: www.storyofstuff.com). Giving 10% of our income brings us back to reality. It goes to the heart of simplicity – to recognise that what we have is a gift from God and to know that it is God’s business to watch out for our needs daily (that’s why we pray “Give us this day our daily bread”).
LESSON 8: Tithing encourages us to “courageously articulate new more human ways to live.” It teaches us to trust in God daily.
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