for the sake of saving

i was away last weekend with a friend who wanted the new ipad2 on the day of it's american release. because we live in canada, and because of the additional craving for the boston-based uburger :-) this meant making our way to beantown. the weekend also consisted of galleria umberto for perfect sicilian cheese pizza & arancini, mike's pastry for perfect cannoli & lobstertails, & lots of dunkin' donuts coffee, just to name a few in the way of palate pleasing stops. we also did some shopping before & after the successful ipad2 wait in line & purchase, since we were in the area from thursday to sunday. we pounded the halls of many malls, as well as those of faneuil & quincy market.


our first stop on friday morning was at the christmas tree shop in peabody, ma, close to our hotel & on our way in to the city. there were some boxed granola bars on sale for the ridiculously low price of .59 cents, whose sign boasted "great savings!" i grabbed a couple after verifying that they weren't an expired or damaged product.


after the long weekend away came and went, one morning i took one of the granola bars with me for breakfast to go with my coffee. i so enjoyed it that i thought to myself, "i should get some more of these." then i remembered i didn't get them here in fredericton, but some several hrs & 500ish kms away...which even for the most deal conscious person would be a bit out of the question :-) for a split second, i thought "do i want them that badly? so badly i would spend time and gas to get .59 cent granola bars?" dumb? the discussion taking place in my head at that moment triggered another memory--the day i spent money on a product i never use, but i had a coupon and felt it just shouldn't go to waste. i haven't used the product...maybe never will. in effect, i didn't actually save .50 cents. i spent $2.50 for a product i will likely never use. the irony is that i was spending money to save money. dumb?


these 2 instances brought me to this query: how far will i go to save? how much will i spend/invest to save? going all the way to boston for cheap granola bars is kinda dumb. and so is using coupons on items that i wouldn't normally purchase just to get the deal. but you know what's not dumb? going out of my way to let someone know that Someone loves them. jude 22 & 23 gives an idea how far i might have to go: "and of some have compassion, making a difference: and others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire." for some, i won't have to go too far to save, or invest too much to save because they just need to be shown God's mercy. maybe he's already a 'good' person; he just needs to know that God has so much more for him. think of cornelius in acts 10...he was devout & just, feared God, gave generously, and prayed always, but his full salvation meant that peter had to take cornelius a little further on his salvation path. cornelius was an easy save, if you will. peter didn't have to go very far or risk very much. on the other hand, i might need to go right to the edge for others who need shown the same mercy. think of saul who became paul. check out acts 7-9 particularly. ananias knew the evils saul had done and/or allowed to be done to christians in jerusalem, and still he went...knowing his life was potentially in jeopardy at the hands of saul. ananias went far to save, risking his very life. he went right to the edge to reach saul. he didn't know what to expect or what was waiting for him, but he went...for the sake of saving... 


the way i see it, there's no distance too far, and no price too great when it comes to saving...at least when it comes to people, marriages, families, futures :-) salvation is for you, your children, and all that are afar off (acts 2:39). catch that? afar off. that implies distance. and there's no distance too great. and again in ephesians 2...but "you who sometimes were far off are made near by the blood of Christ." nope, there's no distance too great...even Jesus agrees :-)


now, how do you see it? share with me, people :-)

swing the bat; drop the gavel

"don't knock someone for playing a game you won't even suit up for."--andy, according to jim.


i recently heard this quote and it personally sparked something of a critical look at criticism and a judicial look at judgment for me :-) i don't remember what the episode was about, but the statement sure struck a chord and stuck with me.


i got thinking about this in relation to the way i evaluate or judge other people's actions or lack of action. now, it's one thing to be critical of someone who is able bodied who never lifts a finger to help, for instance. or someone who goes so far with a job only to walk away and leave someone else with the duties, when it was their responsibility to carry it through to completion. or the person whose tongue wags about issues they see in someone else, who very obviously is 'guilty' of the same. or the one who expects the world from the world, but balks when anything's expected of them.


those are just a few examples. you're smart enough to comparatively contrast and analyze the few examples i've just given, but for the sake of segue, hark back to my first example: be careful when you pass judgment on the one who never lifts a finger to help. let's give them the benefit of a doubt and assume they're missing all their fingers, so offering to help out at the quilting bee where you work with fingers and needles and thread and thimbles on a quilt for developing world countries would certainly be problematic. really, that's a game they can't suit up for, so i can't criticize. as for the other instances, let's just again assume the person might have a perfectly valid reason or excuse for acting or not acting that is more than sheer laziness, lack of ability, or unwillingness.


the way i see it, being critical and passing judgment are dangerous practices, because maybe, just maybe, the tables might get turned one day, and the very thing i judged so harshly and unfairly may well be where i find myself. trust me; it's safer to not judge. besides, all too often, the very thing i criticize and find fault with are in areas and with people i won't even bother with. like andy says, don't knock someone for playing a game you won't even suit up for. i'll use an example i use often: i don't call down my pastors' preaching styles or content because theirs is a game i wouldn't want to play. so, the simple road sign i'm posting here is this: don't talk about the job someone else does when you won't do it. don't nitpick about someone's effort in an area that you're unwilling to commit to. cut someone else some slack who would dare to take a risk while you stand on the sidelines.


i'm learning this the hard way, because admittedly, i'm by nature a very critical thinker and occasionally this bleeds into my everyday life, manifesting itself as harsh criticism rather than mere observation and neutral evaluation. i have to remind myself that my way of doing things might not work for someone else, any more than their way would work for me. neither does it mean that we're all equipped and able to play the same game. 

but don't get me wrong; not being critical or judgmental doesn't mean someone gets away with not suiting up because even if it's not their game or what defines them, chances are they're just as able to serve at the soup kitchen, or visit a lonely senior, or smile at a stranger, or pick up a piece of trash. not being critical or judgmental doesn't even mean turning a blind eye on people who never pitch (in) :-) it does mean i can focus my vision and energy on what i see needs accomplished on the playing field. rather than wasting my time fuming and stewing, i can throw myself into the game with passion and intensity and drive. and suddenly, i'm swinging the bat, not dropping the gavel.

guard up & gloves on

i do some cleaning at my church. i have encountered a lot in my tenure as 'maintenance supervisor'--the classy title assigned to me that basically means i get paid to make sure things are in order in all the main and high traffic areas, either by 'contracting' it out :-) or by doing it myself. 

when i say i've encountered a lot, i mean i have found things that would make a sane person quit, or at least wear gloves more regularly :-) ew, i know. you're thinking, "sick. you don't always wear gloves?!?" well, i used to...allllll the time. and i still do when doing some more dirty jobs, but there are times when i don't take the time to go grab a pair of gloves, and i just go at a task gloveless.

a couple days ago i was doing something that made me go get a pair of gloves. but i realized on my walk to the cleaning closet that on a regular basis i do things without gloves...the same jobs that i would have always worn gloves for. clearly i have become desensitized to some dirt and some dirty jobs. i'll use the simple, only sorta disgusting example of picking up stuff between and on the pews. think snotty tissues. think baby wipes, hopefully for sticky hands and faces. think chewed chewing gum rolled into a ball. think saliva soggy arrowroot cookies. i used to do this picking up with gloves. not so anymore. i guess i stopped being grossed out and afraid of germs at some point. some of the things that bothered me while cleaning no longer bother me. this thought got the (vacuum cleaner) wheels turning... :-)

the way i see it, the things that bothered you in the past should still bother you or there's a problem. or things that never bothered you in a former life should probably bother you now. and if you consider yourself a mature christian, then the list of what bothers you today should be longer than what bothered you 10 years ago or your senses are dulled. this isn't about being judgmental, either. i'm not pointing my finger at you or even suggesting that what bothers me should bother you, and vice versa. in fact, as i use the personal pronoun 'you' i'm actually talking to myself. and believe me, i've taken this very personally...meaning the next time you see me cleaning, i'll have gloves on just like in the past :-)


there's a lot to be said on this, and a lot is something called personal conviction, but what i'm not so subtly intimating is that if vulgar music, books, and movies bothered you then, they still should now. if frequenting less than reputable establishments bothered you then, they still should now. if off colour conversation bothered you then, it still should now. basically, the guidelines you set for yourself based on the bible, or on your own sensibilities and convictions should still be a part of who you are, what you say, what you do. distance yourself from the dirt that bothered you. put up barriers. keep your guard up and your gloves on.

what i am saying is that the dirt that bothered you then should bother you now. don't let yourself become desensitized to the point where you can scrub a toilet with little regard for the germs. they will catch up to you. your system isn't so immune that you can escape the effects of those germs in the long term.

 

and one illustration to leave you with, in case you're thinking you can handle dirt. stick your clean hands in a garbage can filled with garbage and nastiness and rummage through the coffee grounds, diapers, rotten fruit, and ground beef trays. pull your hands out and take a look. what rubbed off? did the cleanliness of your hands rub off on the trash? or are your hands dirty? i'm not implying that you can't effect change in a dirty situation and make it clean, but there's always the challenge that the dirt will affect the clean in the long run if you aren't careful. that's why gloves come in handy. and i'm not talking about being insular and in a bubble here, either. because there's work to do. there are toilets to clean and there’s garbage to deal with--and i don't just mean in the natural :-) that’s why things like prayer, bible reading, and church attendance are important. they’re your protection. jude mentions building each other up, praying in the Holy Ghost, keeping yourself in the love of God, and showing mercy to others, adding “now to Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless” (jude 24). now that sounds like great protection to get the job done!

so protect yourself and don't assume you're smart enough, or careful enough, or strong enough to handle the dirt you’re supposed to be dealing with. keep your guard up and wear gloves :-)