Posted in Philosophy

I started on this journey and had no idea what lay ahead.  I have made it a matter of prayer and this is what has transpired...

*   The washing machine broke - we now have money to buy a new one (thanks MOM!) and are going to have to buy one this weekend but we have been over two weeks without one.  I certainly have a deeper appreciation for those who live without.  It is NOT easy hauling laundry and washing things out in the sink every day.  I am also aware that maybe we NEED to live with fewer things to wash, too.  As a matter of fact... the cleaning out we have done has made our home much more pleasant and has provided us with much less stress and clutter. 

*   The air conditioner is broken and we have gone without that for the last week or so and will not be getting it fixed any time soon.  The weather is getting cooler but it is still a bit warm in the afternoons (into the 80's).  I have been thinking about those that live in countries where they live in temps over 100 with no means for cooling their residences.

*   The kids toilet is broken and turned off.  We still have indoor plumbing and we are sharing one bathroom but, again, thoughts of others who do without have been filling my brain. 

*   God has been showing me how much I truly have and how grateful I should be for all of it.  Even in doing with less I am NOT really doing without anything!!!  Contentment has been on His agenda this month and I totally see that.  Now, while NONE of this is going to save someone in a third world country, it sure has changed me in some drastic ways.  We are pretty frugal people already.  We do not eat out or shop at the mall.  We do not spend on a great deal of frivolity.  We are not poor by any stretch of the imagination.  As a matter of fact I feel very rich as I examine all God has blessed me with.  I have a beautiful family and a home with a roof over our head (that leaks a little bit but at least it covers us) and we have never gone hungry a day in our lives.  I believe that is not from our efforts but from God's provision.  There have been times in our ministry when we did not have money to buy groceries and God has always, ALWAYS provided for our needs.  We would get an envelope full of cash in our mailbox or sacks of groceries left anonymously on our doorstep.  God has ALWAYS provided for our family!!!  I believe those that have made Jesus Lord of their lives do have that assurance that He provides for our needs.  We see that in Matthew when He speaks about the lilies of the field and the bird of the air and how He cares for them.  There is NOTHING I really NEED that HE does not provide for me!!!

As Americans we are truly spoiled people.  Even the poorest among us have welfare and governmental programs (and I must add that many actually take advantage of those programs and I recognize that some do not, but need it instead to survive).  I look just across the border from where we live and see homes with no windows or airconditioning units.  Many have no indoor plumbing or running water of any kind.  They work hard and have very little.  We are a very rich nation!  We can be such whiners about things (me included).  I am now making a concious effort to stop the whining and complaining and be grateful.  I want to be truly content with where God has put me and with what He has given me.  I believe (as I read at Cheri's not too long ago - wish I could link you to the exact post *shrugging*) that ungratefulness over all that God has placed in my life (good and bad to grow me into what He desires me to be) is sin.  Oh, I do not believe God sends BAD things into my life - He merely allows things that He knows will make me more like Him.  I do not want to sin in this manner any longer.  I want to be obedient and grateful!!!

Jesus said, that we would always have the poor among us (Matt 26:11).  That is not going to go away.  My thoughts now turn to how can I make a difference, though, so that we have fewer people in this predicament.  I am not sure how that will happen or what I can do but I am certainly thinking about things more carefully.  I suspect that the example that Jesus gave in feeding the five thousand might be a start.  Meet a physical need so they are ready to hear about what they really need.  With the woman at the well He talked about the Living Water while she was there to draw the well water.  He healed people and told them to go and sin no more.  There is something to meeting a physical need and then a spiritual need that we see over and over again in scripture.  Is there room for social gospel?  I believe that there is huge argument in scripture for it.  I believe that doing good works is NOT what that means.  I believe that sharing Jesus IS what that means.  Now, how can I get involved in that?  Will working save me?  A definite NO but once I have been forgiven so great a debt I cannot help but want to serve a living and real LORD in a way that brings others to Him. 

God has shown me this and I am committing it to memory along with a few others on this topic...
17 Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God,[7] Other mss read on the living God who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.
18 [Instruct them]to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share,
19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real.

1 Tim 6:17-19 (HCSB)

Hmmm... sharing what I have...  being generous... storing up a good foundation for the age to come (not buckets and baskets and barrels of stuff... ;) ) ...taking hold of life that is REAL...   Doncha just LOVE Paul???  :)

So, 30 Days of Nothing has really meant 30 Days to a more rich life.  That is something everyone can use.  The way to have a rich life is Jesus!  He brings you life and life MORE ABUNDANT!!!  Without Him there is  no life...

Now, I will be making all of this a matter of prayer as we head into the home stretch of 30 Days of Nothing...