The checks are starting to roll in now. Have you gotten yours? I got mine. And as I held it in my hand I started to forget about all of these global and local issues going on. The recent cyclone in Burma or the earthquake in China seems so far away – and what could my measly $300 really do anyway? There are so many THINGS I want, things I think I need. And the debt I am in is a constant weight I feel on my shoulders - but then I look at my check again and think to myself "$300, really? How will that take care of much debt, I should really just buy something with that. I can always pay off the debt later.”
But then I call myself back to my call and my call in the Kingdom. Are there some people that really actually NEED this stimulus check? Yes. And they should keep it. But there are others of us that can afford to give it all away, to think of the other and make a significant difference, and we should give it away.
Remember the example from earlier – even if everyone only gave 2/3 of their check to something like sustainable water projects [there are MANY things you can give to], no one on the planet would ever be thirsty or die of water-born diseases... which kill about 6,000 people a day.
Maybe there are some who think we should be using the money as GW asked us to, so we actually stimulate the economy, great! Then how about buying some groceries for a neighbor that can’t afford them? What about that church community member that can’t afford a washer and dryer or can’t pay rent this month? How about that classmate that can’t afford a computer? What about that single mother who needs help buying cloths for her children? There are so many ways you can use the money not for yourself but for the good of another.
We need to have a bigger focus, a Kingdom (counter-cultural) focus. Do we really understand the meaning of sacrifice?
Check out some global ideas at http://howwillyouspendyourcheck.com or at the facebook group.
4 comments:
even if everyone only gave 2/3 of their check to something like...
You say "two-thirds" as if that were something small or reasonable. As laudable as your goal may no doubt be, you've already lost me by that point!
(FYI, I haven't gotten my check yet. Having owed the government money--quite a lot, I'm sorry to say--when I filed, I didn't think about the fact that, if I'd also filled out the "send my refund to" portion, which didn't apply to the actual tax return itself, they would have already sent me the refund electronically. Ahhh, well.)
mark,
thanks for the comment. perhaps if i took out the word "only"? i realize it is significant, it is not small - but it is reasonable. you can't look at what we have - poor grad student or not - and even begin to compare that to the dire circumstance of so many around us.
like i said...there are many who NEED this check, and i am not speaking to them - i hope it serves them well. But there are some of us who don't and i can't say whether that is you or not...i can only say if it is me.
Sorry for not getting back sooner. Part of my complaint is not only the "only" (which is indeed part of it), but the "everyone" aspect. I think such calls, although well intentioned, set themselves up for failure. A call for "everyone" to give 10% (like a tithe) would still fail, even if only directed to all Christians (who have a Biblical directive for that kind of giving) because of the all-encompassing nature of that call.
But it would probably net more total giving than the 2/3rd call does. And that's what you're shooting for, isn't it?
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