Generous Hearts

Well then. Welllllll then.

A million and one. A million and one things. And then some. And then the universe spirals so bloody fast. And then the universe seems clogged in stasis. And then money, this weird substance that seems to offer no balance between struggling and glutted.

Proverbs 30:7-9 "Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."

Do not get me wrong. I am not impoverished. I eat more than I need each day. I sleep in a soft bed. I watch a movie every once in a while. I have clean clothing. I get to take showers every day.

Nevertheless, there is some weird, looming burden that seems to draw even the stoutest of believers down.

G. K. Chesterton wrote, "[Capitalism is] that commercial system in which supply immediately answers to demand, and in which everybody seems to be thoroughly dissatisfied and unable to get anything he wants."

Perhaps American greed has consumed us all such that we endlessly want more. Still, I recall a depressing caption from some random post on some random site. The writer was describing how most Americans, when they envision what they'd do with lottery winnings, think about paying off debt. We have imagined obtaining some impossible wealth, and our first dream is to pay off debt.

Again, I know many of us manage our money poorly—I know I do—but I know too many people who are living financially mild lives who have that selfsame dream.

I've seen this caption in a number of venues. A bit of an exaggeration obviously, but the overall theme is serious business.

I often dream of a technological apocalypse: an event where no one is hurt but where the whole planet is darkened by some super EMP. There'd be destruction of course, all sorts of horrendous things. Our collective, lurking evil would spring forth, unable to be hidden by our feigned bubbles of safety.

Eventually—I imagine (or dream anyway)—it would simmer into some kind of system where useful people practice useful skills and get commodities for it and useless, greedy people have to grow up or get ostracized.

What's the solution in our nation today? Regrettably, it's too simple: a generous heart in each individual. It's scary how often we—even believers—count the cost, as if losing one of our two pennies will finally break the bank. Conversely, though, it is inspiring to see an individual or two who, without having much, still gives much.

There was one time I was walking through the city, and there was this lady sitting on the side of the road. She had a jagged strip of cardboard; I don't remember what it said, but she was begging. I never give money to beggars (since I never carry cash anyway), but I commit myself to buying people food or drink (no cigarettes or alcohol). I ended up buying her a loaf of bread and a small stash of butter from a nearby store. Here's what struck me: I chatted with her for a while just asking a bit about her story. She was thankful for the bread and told me she was going to split it with a friend of hers who was begging down the street.

This lady—truly impoverished—had no hesitations about sharing what little she was given.

We, however—with our TVs, new shoes, clean cars, warm showers, electric toothbrushes, Pandora One radio, Netflix, Starbucks coffee, manicures, pedicures, regular barber visits, pressed suits, soft pillows, air conditioning, heating, brand-name clothes, dyed hair, gym memberships, 15 GB of data, trimmed lawns, Kindle Fire, up-to-date smartphones, and so many more—can't seem to stretch a little for the sake of someone we don't know.

Sometimes not even for the sake of someone we do know.

So what do we do? A generous heart in each individual is of course much easier said than done since God is the only one who changes hearts, and our country hates Him more and more boldly.

I suppose all we can do is pray and pray and pray.