Wealth & Luxury: A Latent Virtue

I sat secure and comfortable in a well cushioned arena chair at the Lucas Oil Stadium in downtown Indianapolis, scrutinizing the functionality of my friend's new iPhone between the sets of Israel Houghton and Chris Tomlin, two artists I'm not particularly fond of, but I was there for God, not myself. I loaded the PhotoSwap application and held the phone up to take a picture of the thousands of people filling the stade in return for, most likely, the lonely bed sheets of a spoiled, angst ridden American teen (quite like myself, although I'm nearly 21). Whilst reviewing the picture after it processed, I noticed something that kept me from hitting "swap." The sea of silhouettes contained across the court and into the opposing stands were blurred and distorted by cell phone lights and camera flashes of their own. In all likelihood, I could've swapped my photo for one nearly identical and then, without noticing the subtle differences, enticed those around me by preaching, "I swapped photos with myself!"

But what's the point of this ostensibly feckless literature? The point is that everyone present had phones, cameras, watches, iPods - you name it. I was immersed in the pinnacle of upper-middle class American consumerism. "These are the people who have what T.V. wants us to have," I thought. We were there to worship God! "Any spoken word of praise or thanksgiving is vain. God isn't the one we really love. He isn't the one we're really thankful for. It's this phone, or that mp3 player, or the instruments and equipment on stage!" That's all I could think about.

I realized the stupendous amounts of money spent on superficial needs and requisites by the American social stratum that I shamefully admit to. Such hypocrisy, such guilt (a reoccurring theme these days). How do I deal with this? Can I deal with this? 2 Corinthians 8:14 says, "At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality..." Equality is a Christian theme and an ideological construct impossible of existing solely within the empirical realm. Though we might not see every man as equal, much less even be capable of such a task, God does, and his vision for us is clearly a community of reliability and interdependence. If we have more than we need, i.e., excess, we should give it to those who need it. Timothy J. Keller gives a terribly convicting sermon on 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, dealing with generosity, hope and money, and his articulations are much more insightful than mine are, so I will simply paraphrase and summarize his wonderful, Biblical account of "Christian Hope & Money."

Keller addresses the "excess" that I have distinguished and agrees that it should be distributed where it's needed (otherwise it rots within us), but he also points out that Paul is not telling us (or the Corinthians) to do just that. Paul's message is that such acts of generosity should be done willingly. 2 Corinthians 8:12 says, "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." It doesn't matter how much you give; what matters is that you want to give it. The reason for this, Keller explains, is that our society, nay, humanity, is divorced by class distinctions, wealth and poverty. This is not what God intended. We are all equal in his eyes, and we should want to "reweave" the threads of our lives with the threads of others to become whole and fully realized in the Kingdom of God (shalom). This is the basic message of 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, though Keller goes into greater detail, covering problems like the realization of greed and excess and actualizing the power to overcome the material world. I highly recommend listening to the full sermon called, once again, "Christian Hope & Money." I would be delighted to share it with you.

What, then, are my conclusions? It is true that I am disgusted with the excess of material filth and toxins that we live with, but I cannot be bitter about it nor hold it against my neighbor. As Keller points out, most people are unaware of the vice money has over us and the alienation and suffering it causes our fellow man. This is because people aren't regularly immersed in social classes separate from their own, and therefore, since the only communities they're involved with are spending all their money on themselves, it's a justified, guiltless and, most sickening of all, normal and expected act. It's a shame that humanity has become so divided to the point where we're blinded to our own greed. The only thing it seems I can do is change my own monetary habits and try to become the concerned, anxious, generous giver that Paul describes and hope that others will learn from my example, provided that God let my example really be an example at all.

But I see something else. I see deep, underlying human potential - a latent virtue, if you will. I see money being donated, iPods being given away, that third T.V. in your house being given to someone without even a cell phone. I see potential for a sweeping movement of grace, God providing, that could change the hearts of not only young, aspiring romantics like myself, but of any person who believes in the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I see a capacity of unity and responsibility in the body of Christ that embraces the frightful words of John the Baptist in John 3:30, "He must become greater; I must become less." So, come! For the glory and wholeness of God and his people, for the holy equality of all mankind, let us say, "No!" to the American consumerist mentality. Let us see the deceit and harm in T.V. commercials telling us how much greater our lives will be with the newest phone model, video game or clothing accessory. We don't need it, and we don't want it. Instead, let us use our money to support our brothers & sisters in Christ who struggle to stay warm during the winter, provide food for their families and even those who struggle to maintain any shred of hope in the goodness of God. Let's show them that goodness willingly, for they are every bit deserving of our wealth as we are.

Our money, friends, is a gift from God that we need not hoard for ourselves.

Guilt: An Introduction

If only I hadn't ordered that side of "apples & grapes," I would have been able to cover a homeless man's bus fare. And if only I wasn't vegan, I would have ordered a large enough meal to pay with a credit card and maintain the three dollars I spent on fruit to offer to that homeless man. However, the latter would have compromised my moral convictions towards animal cruelty, but would it have been worth it? Is a cow's life worth sparing for a poor man's bus ride? These questions can remain unanswered, for there is but one sure way out of this mess: selflessness. I should not have eaten anything. It seems Gandhi was right, whether concerning bovine or vagabond, when he said, "live simply so others can simply live."

I cannot, though, let this peculiar sense of guilt prevent me from functioning in ways necessary to survive and, God willing, flourish, but I can ask myself, "do I really need this?" the next time I consider dropping a buck or two.