wealth, identity, and love

This morning I was reading Psalm 10, and it caused me to reflect on the idea of God as the defender of the poor, followed by questions about my own attitudes concerning the poor. The following were some of my conclusions.

I think the main reason why it is harder for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, is because of the way wealth insidiously affects the wealthy person’s identity. He tends to see himself as being capable, which affects both his relationships with and identity before others and the Lord. First, his wealth tends to lower his esteem of the poor. Unconsciously, he sees them as a group, instead of individuals, and assumes that they are content with their lot because it’s all they’ve known. He sees himself, in contrast, as being so different from them, that he looks past their pain. As an example, I draw attention to the way I don’t make as much of an effort to learn the names of people from the colonia, or market people, as I do professionals and students. I see professionals and students as individuals with an interesting story, while I view those from the compania only as members of a larger group, that is too different from me to understand. In this way, my view of the world is distorted and I am less likely to treat my poor neighbor with the unconditional love characteristic of those in God’s kingdom.

Secondly, his wealth tends to lower his dependence on God. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, the Israelites go through cycles of being desperate and crying out for deliverance, being rescued by the Lord, experiencing His blessing, growing self-sufficient and satisfied, and then coming to ruin, only to cry out again and begin the cycle, once more. This is one of the themes, in my opinion, of the story of God’s people. I’m also reminded, at this point of a (probably fictitious) story in Christian tradition of Augustine walking through the streets of Rome with another believer, who proudly reflected on the wealth surrounding them, “Well, we Christians can no longer say ‘Silver and gold have I not!” to which Augustine wisely responded, “True. And neither can we follow it with ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” Similarly, I remember being struck by Amy Charmichael’s observation in A Chance to Die, “We claim to be strangers and aliens in this world, yet we settle down as if we’re right at home and plan on staying for quite some time. It’s no wonder that apostolic miracles have ceased. Apostolic living certainly has.” Wealth naturally blinds us to our dependence on God, because our reality is that we can meet all of our own needs. It is only by taking God’s word at face value, which requires a choice to live by faith rather than sight, that we will see the reality of our poverty before Him and rest in His provision, alone.

Finally, I’ve become aware of how, in our North American culture, at least, our wealth affects our identity by allowing us to be “with it”. If we have the money to do so, we’ll show that we’re all right, by hurriedly replacing our colored outdoor Christmas lights when white ones have come into vogue, stowing away our tapered Jeans and leg warmers until they show up to our complete horror 20 years later, replacing our dishes with each new season, and remodeling our homes every 10 years. If we don’t do these things, we are devalued in our own eyes, and in the eyes of our society. When we see a missionary who comes home on furlow and looks 20 years behind, we say “Oh, bless her heart (that stupid idiot)!” Now, we kinda give her a break, because her ignorance is explainable; we know she’s been gone. But when we see people in the street who aren’t with it, we turn them in to What Not to Wear, not just reflecting on their clothes. Our judgment of them penetrates to their ignorance or naiveté, as a person. Now, I’m not criticizing people for loving the latest styles. My sister-in-law is an interior designer and a VERY good dresser. She loves to express her creativity by putting together fashionable outfits off of 7 different sale racks. God created beauty, so this is wonderful, so long as it doesn’t become a measure of her, or others’, worth (which it doesn’t… because she loves me! J). When style turns into a means of determining “with-it-ness”, it becomes either a blinder or a burden, depending on which side of the fence we fall, thus distorting our reality and robbing us of peace.

So, what do we do about it? I am convinced that God is not opposed to material wealth and beauty. More and more, I see that He is the God of unlimited resources and abundant love who created this crazy amazing world in which we presently live, while He is busy building us heavenly mansions in which to spend eternity. Our God is the fountain of inexhaustible wealth and power. So I cannot see it fitting that He requires us, as His children, to live as powerless paupers in order to please Him and secure our places in heaven. Jesus follows His statement about it being harder for a rich man to get into heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of a needle by saying that what is impossible with men is possible with God. I think, then, that the 2 keys have to do with identity and love. As the natural consequence of wealth is to raise one’s confidence in himself, thus resulting in self-sufficiency, lack of dependence on God, and devaluation of the poor, we must resist this natural trajectory and seek humility before God and neighbor, alike. Secondly, once we see the relationships between ourselves, our God, and our neighbors as they really are according to the true reality of the unseen world, we must cultivate His love in our hearts, using our resources as a means of extending that love by giving generously, as we, ourselves, have so freely and abundantly received.

Body Heat

Did you know that when King David was old, he was always cold, at night, in spite of his blankets, so they hired a young boy to sleep with him and keep him warm? It's in 1 Kings, no joke! And remember the passage in Ecclesiastes where it says that when two people lie down, together, they keep one another warm? I will never read those passages the same, again.
Until coming to Paraguay, I don't know that I really knew what it was like to be cold for extended periods of time. Our winters, here, are actually warmer than in Indiana, but nobody can afford central heat. The only places to escape the cold are under my electric blanket, in the shower, or under my hair drier (an ingenious discovery… my hair's been straight a LOT, this winterJ). At our GBU retreat, this weekend, though, I learned another trick; find a bedmate. I think I broke one of the 10 commandments, Friday night, by envying Liz and Lety, the sisters who shared their twin bed, below mine. The next morning, 16 year old Cecia confessed that she'd frozen through the night, and asked if she could sleep with me, Saturday. I didn't know that was allowed; I'd assumed only sisters with a special bond could get away with such close community (remember we were in twin bunk beds), but I gladly agreed, thankful for anything that would take off the chill. When it was time to get ready for bed, I realized that it wasn't just Cecia who had learned from the night before. All of the girls pushed their bunks side by side, and rearranged the blankets so that we could all bunker down, together! It was one of the funnier, more eye-opening experiences of my life. And we didn't just share the blankets, we shared one another's body heat- I'm talking 4 unit, platonic spooning chains! Judging from their naturalness, I was the only one to whom this was foreign. They'd all grown up sharing the family bed on cold nights. And you know what? It was kinda nice. First of all, it was really warm. Secondly, it was cool to see how they achieved the same results (getting warm) by relying on one another, that we do in North America, by using technology. Thirdly, I didn't feel alone