Living in the Land of Excess

Will you indulge me a little post-Haiti-mission-trip-processing?  Thanks! I recently had the privilege of spending 5 days in Haiti, making new friends, seeing the countryside, and visiting a boy our youth group has been sponsoring through Compassion International (there will be a future blog post about that trip). The experience was so much more than I can even begin to put into mere words as it involves my feelings, my thoughts, my spirit...those parts of experiences that seem to be cheapened if you try to put them into black and white sentences and phrases.

As I have begun the process of "re-entry" back into normal life and normal routines, I'm not sure I can handle "normal" any more. One of the realizations I am sure of is that we live in a land of excess. Excess clothing. Excess food. Excess media. Excess opportunities. Excess stuff. Excess. Check out Jesus' words in Luke 12:13-21. He has some pretty specific things to say to people who make "excess" their goal in life:

     A man in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide with me the property our father left us.”  Jesus answered him, “Friend, who gave me the right to judge or to divide the property between you two?” And he went on to say to them all, “Watch out and guard yourselves from every kind of greed; because your true life is not made up of the things you own, no matter how rich you may be.”
     Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a rich man who had land which bore good crops.  He began to think to himself, ‘I don't have a place to keep all my crops. What can I do? This is what I will do,’ he told himself; ‘I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I will store the grain and all my other goods. Then I will say to myself, Lucky man! You have all the good things you need for many years. Take life easy, eat, drink, and enjoy yourself!’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night you will have to give up your life; then who will get all these things you have kept for yourself?’”   And Jesus concluded, “This is how it is with those who pile up riches for themselves but are not rich in God's sight.”

Life in Haiti

For the past week, I've been contrasting the riches of the US with the riches of Haiti. When you look at material goods, the US comes out on top easily. But when you start looking at those things considered "rich in God's sight" I think Haitian believers have the edge. The brief experience I had in Haiti showed me in numerous ways how believers there depend on the Lord solely day in and day out for their needs. Complete and utter dependence. And you know what? They actually believe that God will take care of them! Not just a head knowledge, either...they truly believe it.

Can I be honest? It's been difficult this past week being bombarded with all that this land of excess has to offer. So much seems like such drivel when compared to what God would have us spend our time and resources on. How can we justify spending thousands on "entertainment" when every 5 seconds somewhere in the world a child dies from hunger? We sing songs to the Lord with lines like "Break my heart for what breaks Yours. Everything I am for Your Kingdom's cause." The reality of that is penetrating my very being in ways that it hasn't before. If my heart breaks for the same things that God's heart breaks for, then my daily life needs to look a lot different. If all of my time and resources are spent for the Lord's Kingdom's cause, then my daily life needs to look a lot different.

Some of you are probably saying, "Yep, it's obvious she's just back from a mission trip. Give it a day or two."  Well, I'm determined that my five days in Haiti are not going to be a "flash in the pan."  I will share this line that I believe God impressed on my heart: "I don't feel that God is calling me to move to Haiti, but I do believe He is calling me to be moved BY Haiti."  May it be so, Lord.

Insulated or Isolated?

At the D6 Conference I attended last year, Fred Luter (Pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans) made a statement that has stuck with me ever since. He said, "We can't isolate kids from the culture, but we can insulate them with God's Word." Isn't that a marvelous thought? Kids are going to grow up in the culture around us, and isolating them from everything is nearly impossible. Unless you lock them in their bedroom and board up the windows and don't allow any sort of electronic device to permeate the perimeter...but one day, they'll grow up and have to face the "big bad world", and will they be equipped? That's why I think what Pastor Luter said is brilliant...instead of putting our kids into isolation until Jesus returns, we as parents, grandparents, children's and youth ministers can work diligently at "insulating" the young people in our lives with the word of God.

Let's teach our kids how to handle disappointment and conflict in a biblical and godly manner. Let's teach them the importance of loving God with all that's in us and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Let's teach them the importance of mission and giving. Let's teach them what it means to live a righteous and holy life in love with a righteous and holy God.

Consider Jesus' words in His prayer on the night before He would be crucified:

"I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth."

Jesus definitely was not asking the Father to isolate His disciples...He was asking to insulate them, to keep them from the evil one, to sanctify them (to be set apart)...and this is all wrapped up, could we say "insulated", in the truth...God's word.

So, bottom line? Make sure your kids are well-insulated! Permeate their lives with the word of God (along with your own life!) Teach them what it means to wear the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18). And most importantly, make following Christ a lifestyle that infiltrates every corner of life.

Gift Giving

We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, a special day set aside to especially be thankful for all that God has given us, to count our blessings, to recognize afresh the many ways that we are blessed each and every day. And then there was Black Friday...the day that many seem to have forgotten about the blessings they were so thankful for just a few hours ago as they push and claw to get the best deal on "stuff". A cashier at our local department store commented that Black Friday in their store was actually "nasty" a few times when they were first opening.

So what's my point? How do we teach our children that Thanksgiving is a lifestyle? How do we teach them not to get caught up in the trappings of this culture that says we're entitled to what we want, when we want it?  I think the best and most effective answer is to make sure that WE are modeling that behavior ourselves. The old saying goes, "More is caught than taught."  As the Christmas holiday approaches, how do you help bring balance in your family between gift giving and gift receiving? How do you teach your children that it's important to think of others during a season that encourages kids to think mostly of themselves and their own desires? 

Give the gift of a warm blanket!

If you're interested in making some changes this Christmas, consider checking out the Samaritan's Purse website. They give you loads of options of ways that you and your family can give gifts to people in impoverished countries. For example, there is currently an urgent need for blankets to keep people warm. For $6, your family can help make that happen. For $70, you can provide a family with a dairy animal. There are also many opportunities locally...the Salvation Army "bell ringers", Angel Trees, Adopt-A-Block, church ministries, etc. 

I'd love your feedback to some of the questions I've posed above! What does this time of year look like in your home?