the sweepstakes...

When we lived in Columbia, South Carolina, my friend Toni would call. "Did you get your Publishers Sweepstakes mailer?" She would come over, small children in tow, and we would fix a cup of tea while we filled out the forms. While drinking the tea, we would imagine what we would do with a million dollars. First, of course, we would tithe ten percent to the church. Then we would let our imaginations run amok with possibilities. We would pay off the house mortgage, buy a new car, send parents on vacations, save for college funds. We kept a running tally and suddenly the money was gone. It was such fun imagining how generous we would be and how wonderful it would be not to have to decide whether to pay Peter or Paul this month. I have yet to win anything but I still enter the contests.
I have some friends who have made a lot of money... a LOT of money... relatively late in life through hard work, good ideas, good luck, good timing and a willingness to risk. Having money removed some burdens from their lives but interestingly enough, added some unforseen responsibilities. One friend has had to hire someone to manage requests for money after making some public gifts that put him on the short list of big givers. If you are the owner of a company, you feel responsible for those who work for you. Medical insurance, retirement, and daily bread for those in your business... these employees depend upon you keeping the business fresh and productive. What was energizing and creative while you were building your company runs the risk of becoming confining and constrictive. Having a lot of money is both gift and curse and it doesn’t matter if you inherited it or earned it.
I am fascinated with the public and religious perspective on poverty and wealth. Somehow the rich myth ( always white and Republican) in our church culture has taken on new life. One cannot be rich and follow Jesus. People who truly desire peace and justice for the world must feel guilty for the abundance in their lives goes the myth. We live in a rich country and we have more than most of the rest of the world. The rich young ruler who was unable to give up his wealth for Jesus’ sake is the poster child for this movement. If you are rich, shame on you. We all know it is harder for a rich person to go to heaven. Jesus said so, didn’t he?
We forget all the rich people who were a part of the Jesus Movement. Mary, Martha and Lazerus were at least upper middle class. Nicodemus, a part of the religious ruling class, was rich enough to buy a tomb for Jesus. Many of the people healed by Jesus were wealthy and a part of the establishment. Remember the ruler of the synagogue whose daughter died? His need was not put to the sliding fee scale test. Jesus’ ministry was not confined to the poor or the rich but to the needy.
And contrary to the politically correct interpretation of poverty, not all poor people are virtuous. Poverty in and of itself does not confer a mantle of sainthood upon a person. Poor people like rich people and middle class people, come in a variety of styles and sizes. Poor people, like rich people and middle class folks, can steal and lie and cheat. The scale may be smaller but the act is the same. The person who stole a handcrafted box from our church art gallery is as much a thief as the CEO of a large corporation making millions more than the company’s employees.
And then there is that disturbing story in the gospels of Matthew and John. "When Jesus was at the home of Simon the wino in Jonesboro, a woman with a very high priced bottle of perfume came and dabbed it on him while he was eating. When the students noticed it, they boiled over: ‘What’s going on? Why waste this when it could be sold for a neat sum and used for the poor?’ Jesus got wind of it and said,’Why are you bitching at the lady? She has done something beautiful for me. You have poor people with you all the time, but you don’t have me all the time. By putting this perfume on my body she has prepared me for burial. I assure you wherever the gospel is preached she will be remembered for what she has done.’"(the Cotton Patch Gospels)
So what do Christians do about money? For those Christians who have a great deal of money, live and share without guilt but in gratitude for all your blessings. Gifts given from gratitude tend to be larger than grudge gifts given in guilt. It is an insult to the One who has blessed you to give without joy. For those in the middle, give with gratitude and the awareness that we in the middle are also rich and can give what we are able. For the poor, like the widow in the Gospel, you are not let off the giving hook just because you are poor. Jesus held up the widow’s mite as an example of giving. It was given freely, quietly and joyfully not publicly, coerced or grudgingly. When we all share our money, however small or large the gift, we put a down payment on a piece of the Kingdom, for where our hearts and our monies are, there is our treasure.
Honest wealth is no sin nor is honest poverty or honest middle class. The money is not the problem. Our first love is the problem. Somehow we must put the God Movement first, learn to love God with our whole selves and come to a way of living filled with gratitude, giving because we have been given much. An old hymn says "Out in the highways and byways of life, many are weary and sad. Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife, making the sorrowing glad. Tell the sweet story of Christ and his love, tell of his power to forgive. Others will trust him if only you prove true every moment you live. Give as was given to you in your need, Love as the Master loved you. Be to the helpless a helper indeed, unto your mission be true. Make me a blessing, make me a blessing. Out of my life, may Jesus shine. Make me a blessing, O Saviour, I pray, make me a blessing to someone today."
I entered the HGTV House give away contest today. If I win, I will celebrate and share my good fortune with others. If I don’t win, I will still celebrate and share my good fortune with others seeking to be a blessing, not buy one.