On Prosperity, Property, and Pantries

After the Summer 2008, when I ventured half way around the world to a little southern African country known as Malawi, I had a season of grieving. Spending two weeks in villages heavily populated by underfed orphans, and coming back to plush, albeit hot, suburban Gilbert, Arizona, can do that to a person. I mourned for the friends that I had made in Malawi that might never eat three good meals a day. I mourned for those of my friends in the United States who might never appreciate the (arguably due to portion sizes...just sayin') four or five meals they consumed daily. And I began thinking about community and spreading wealth.

Say, for instance, the massive amounts of food we have stored in our pantries and refrigerators. You know, the Pringles, the Cheerios, the pears, and the salami...and everything in between. Now think about the Lord's prayer. "Give us today our daily bread." (Matt 6:11) Now ask yourself this question with me:

How many people's daily bread do we have stored in our kitchen?

The answer is probably several. And not just in some cosmic sense where God mistakenly placed five loaves of bread in your pantry and now you have to find their respective owners. In a very intentional sense. God gave you excess to spread around in a life giving, community-oriented way. I know that in my mind, I can think about multiple opportunities where I could have invited someone into my home and fed them, or could have offered a meal to the guy stopping by to drop something off that they borrowed from one of my room mates, or even could have offered one of my room mates part of my meal. And I do sometimes. Especially when resources are abundant. And I'm sure you do to. But what happens when God asks us to deliberately give despite our lack. What happens when you're called to give when "little is provided. God works miracles, that's what. If you don't believe me, I'd encourage you to check out this story.

Now, I'm not saying that if you raise up the pot of pasta sauce to the heavens and ask God to bless it, then a river of marinara will come pouring forth. Although, I'm definitely not saying it won't either. Crazier things have happened (i.e. pillar of cloud/fire, rivers turning into blood, dead people coming back to life). But what I am saying is that God will provide. A check might come in the mail. Someone might be thinking of you and send you money. All the groceries you need will be half off. Someone will buy groceries for. All of these are written from my personal experience of testing God when he calls me to sacrifice, and I have a genuine need afterward.

But the catch is, you have to actually believe He's going to provide for you enough to go for it.

And the beautiful (and slightly scary) part of this whole process is that this sacrifice of comfort applies to other areas where God has given to us. Money (tithing, need I say more), housing (you have NOT been given a 5 bedroom, 3 bathroom house for you, your spouse, and your pet chihuahua; you have been given the space so that you can in turn shelter others), and vehicles (it will not kill you to give people rides every once in a while) are just a few things that come to mind that fall under the "can be sacrificed category." I chose to name those few things because I think they would be a really great starting point.

The wonderful part about all of this (if you've stuck through this post until now) is that this is all part of God's incredible plan to bring joy and love back into our lives. He isn't asking us to sacrifice just to show Him how much we love Him, though that is part of it. He's also doing this because He designed us, and knows what will ultimately bring us peace and fulfilment. It will not come from isolating or hoarding, but from community and generosity.

I'll leave you with this anecdote. I came out to Massachusetts this winter completely unprepared. That is, I had two hoodies and a sweater. Definitely not your ideal gear for 3 degree weather. But God provided for me through my community (because I had a lack of funding to buy nice gear). Not only do I have an incredibly warm North Face jacket, but two fleeces, gloves, wool socks, and boots. All because people were generous with what God had given them. And most of those people I had only met a few times before they literally took the coats off of their back (without me asking) and gave me what I needed. If that doesn't promote a sense of community, I don't know what does.

So what have you been holding back? What are some small, practical ways you can bring life giving sacrifice back into your community? And dare to dream big. What does God have for you as a vision of how you can majorly sacrifice for His name?