back in the saddle
My email is down at work and I find myself running out of things to do so I thought I would work on a new blog. The past couple of weeks I have had a lot of time off work but I do not feel rested. It feels more relaxing now as I start to get back into a schedule. But writing about life updates and busy schedules is boring to even think about. Instead let me ramble a bit about what has been on my mind a lot lately; wealth and responsibility.
On a number of levels I feel like all I have been doing these past couple weeks is consume and watch others do the same thing. Too much food has been eaten, gifts have been given and received. Time has been spent online and in malls shopping and watching the masses do the same thing. And in the midst of all this I have experienced moments of thankfulness and joy while being with family, friends and celebrating our bountiful blessings together. It is good to enjoy people, food and drink. It is good to be generous and look for ways to bless each other.
Yet through it all I feel I am in a dangerous place. I am in danger of drowning in the joy of consumption. I just left a lunch with a woman who helps run a holistic ministry to woman and children with HIV/AIDS in Kenya. The people she sees every day struggle with having to sell their bodies so that they can have their next meal. I worry about losing the pounds I have gained this past month.
I have read in a couple difference places this past week that some believe that a new reformation is taking place in the church today. This reformation is believed to be driven by Christians who know a great deal about scripture but are now just starting to move as a body to take action. I hope that is true and that I will be obedient in my own life.
I am not sure exactly what to do about the tension between my expanding belly and my brother and sister being hungry across the ocean but I know action is required and my very faith is at risk to do nothing.
I really am thankful for all that I have and I see it as a powerful tool for good but at the moment I am more cognizant of its potential for evil.
On a number of levels I feel like all I have been doing these past couple weeks is consume and watch others do the same thing. Too much food has been eaten, gifts have been given and received. Time has been spent online and in malls shopping and watching the masses do the same thing. And in the midst of all this I have experienced moments of thankfulness and joy while being with family, friends and celebrating our bountiful blessings together. It is good to enjoy people, food and drink. It is good to be generous and look for ways to bless each other.
Yet through it all I feel I am in a dangerous place. I am in danger of drowning in the joy of consumption. I just left a lunch with a woman who helps run a holistic ministry to woman and children with HIV/AIDS in Kenya. The people she sees every day struggle with having to sell their bodies so that they can have their next meal. I worry about losing the pounds I have gained this past month.
I have read in a couple difference places this past week that some believe that a new reformation is taking place in the church today. This reformation is believed to be driven by Christians who know a great deal about scripture but are now just starting to move as a body to take action. I hope that is true and that I will be obedient in my own life.
I am not sure exactly what to do about the tension between my expanding belly and my brother and sister being hungry across the ocean but I know action is required and my very faith is at risk to do nothing.
I really am thankful for all that I have and I see it as a powerful tool for good but at the moment I am more cognizant of its potential for evil.
posted by Jon at
11:49 AM
4 Comments:
Great post Jon. This year, more than any before, I really questioned what it meant to celebrate Christmas and it's ties to American consumerism... and it lead us to some interesting conclusions. Mike and I put away our Christmas tree and didn't give each other gifts. We got groceries from my parents and are giving a donation to charity as a family with Mike's family. We still gave gifts, but just a few, and wrapped them all with things found in our recycling bin. I think it was the first christmas I celebrated where I didn't care about gifts... and it felt so refreshing.
Keep questioning... and get ahold of the book "The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical" by Shane Claiborne... i think you'll like it.
I hope your right. I hope a reformation is coming when more Christians move from believers to followers.
Good post Jon. Spending most of the intense Christmas season in Mexico brought me to many the same conclusions. I mean, I think about this stuff every year, but so do many people, and we never act on it, like Maria has, which is commendable.
Instead of writing a sermon here I think I'll blog on this.. thanks for the food for thought.
i appreciate this post, jon. i feel that tension, too ... i'd love to see how people who felt like this in their 20s live now, say, in their 50s.
i think i want to be hopeful. i want to see how it's done. i don't want to be discouraged by the number of hippies turned consumer-driven Americans.
word
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home