Nickel and Dimed, by Barbara Ehrenreich
This book was about low level wage workers in
Most poor people actually work, some even work two jobs just to get by.
With the current (low wage) situation our appropriate emotion is shame. Shame at our dependency, in this case, on the underpaid labour of others. When someone works for less pay than she can live on- when for example, she goes hungry so that you can eat more cheaply and conveniently- then she has made a great sacrifice for you, she has made a gift of some part of her abilities, her health, and her life. The “working poor” as they are approvingly termed, are infact the major philanthropists (contributors of well being) of our society. They neglect their own children so that the children of others will be cared for; they live in substandard housing so that others homes will be shiny and perfect; they endure deprival so that inflation will be low and stock prices high. To be a member of the working poor is to be an anonymous donor, a nameless benefactor to everyone else.
Jesus comments come to mind that ‘the first will be last and the last will be first’. Whether they know it or not, maybe these are the people who are the ‘servants to all’ that will one day be considered greatest in Gods kingdom.
New Kind of Christian trilogy and Simply Christian
I also just finished reading the last two books in the ‘new kind of Christian’ trilogy. Really good stuff. The second one, ‘the story we find ourselves in’ is about the story of God and humanity from beginning to end. The way it is told actually makes the Bible sound like a story (which it is) rather than a set of doctrines or dot points. I have also started reading N.T Wrights ‘Simply Christian’ which also follows the story approach. Yesterday, the 16th of June, I got really excited coz I felt like I really had found my part in the story and realised what a privilege I have been given in helping Gods kingdom come and his will be done right now on this earth. It seems my focus is shifting more and more off what is going to happen after life’s over and on to seeing justice, peace, love… come now. This vision inspires me and gives me far more motivation to invite others to join in Gods mission of restoration and rescue.
The final book in the previously spoken about trilogy, ‘The last word and the word after that’ is about God’s justice and grace and goes heavily into issues on hell which really challenged my conventional understanding of it. I’ll have to look into it some more but it’s fairly convincing even though it sounds heretical.
One of the main things to come out of it was how these days we are all so worried about our own personal salvation that we have somehow relieved ourselves of our corporate responsibility to the rest of society. Since we have our ‘ticket to heaven’ we can let the world at large go to hell (environmentally, economically, culturally) So we go on wasting resources, supporting materialism, consumerism, and slave labour …as long as we keep our own faith clean and pure and take care of our personal sins the rest of the world can go jump.
I actually thought about this some more when I was hiking, I thought I had seen some bear droppings on the ground and I was walking in an area infested with berries; so naturally I was on the lookout for bears. I got so wrapped up looking out for bears that I nearly stepped on a snake. I thought maybe that’s like the church. We place so much emphasis on personal sin that we are in danger of stepping on the snakes at our feet?
I still haven’t figured out where I need to go with all this. But I am renewing my commitment to being veggie after a bit of a slack phase. I know there is more to do but I still have to work out what that is and whether it’s going to work on a practical level or not.
“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and not do it” James 4:17
(not sure whether I’ve used that in context)
Deluded with my own faith??
A while back I met a guy that claimed he was a prophet and had the answer to world peace. Something to do with letting
It’s funny how when my friends honestly question the Bible and their faith, I get really worried or upset. I worry at their ‘lack of faith’ but really it shows my lack of faith because I am not trusting what the Bible itself says ‘those who seek will find’.
But back to the issue of whether or not I am deluded. Here are just two experiences I’ve had in the last week, that among other things, give me good reason to believe.
The $90 story.
Having just that day dropped Mark off at the airport I was sitting in the car just outside of
Earlier I had driven past a church and saw a sign for what I thought was a Friday family service at 6. It was
I was trying to find the entrance when a lady asked ‘hey, do you want to come join us, we have a family night tonight?’, ‘oh, I thought it was going to be a service catered towards families’ I replied. Turns out it was a night for parents to bring their children together for art, craft and a meal. I was invited to sit down and eat and got talking to a few of the people. They were giving me advice on parking in the city which gets pretty hard and pretty expensive. $13 an hour or upwards of $30 a day. The advice and detailed map I was given would end up seeing me park free the whole next day outside a yacht club. As I was talking and getting to know a few of the people the lady that invited me in walked by and gave me a rub on the back. I felt pretty loved and cared for at that point. But then after that, as I was about to leave she discreetly waved me over to the kitchen where she slipped some money into my hand. ‘Here, for your trip’ she said. I protested, telling her I have money and parents supporting me but she brushed that off with an ‘oh, that’s good’. I was overwhelmed, I walked out to the car and saw she had given me $90. Tears of gratitude or something like it welled up and I was just so thankful to God for showing me I am loved, cared for and not alone.
The Point Reyes hiking episode
Today I woke at around 7am to the sound of a ringing phone, the call was soon interrupted by a park ranger who came over to the car I had just slept in and instead of giving me a hundred dollar fine for spending the night in the carpark gave me a map of the area and gave me some advice.
This hike was right up there with the Routeburn track as the best I have ever been on. The wildlife was absolutely everywhere. I spotted deer, seals, pelicans, oystercatchers and all sorts of birds I’d never seen. I nearly even stepped on a snake. The best thing about it was, I hardly saw any humans at all. It was like my playground to explore.
And explore I did, so much so that I got lost a couple of times and fell into and waded my way through a whole bunch of poison ivy to get back on the right path. I also spent so long looking at all the different stuff that I got a bit behind time.
It was probably 6:15ish when I got to a crossroads that said informed me the car was parked 7.1 miles away. I thought I might have about 2 hours of light left and started running up the track where I passed a dead and mangled deer carcass…maybe a sign?? I kept running for a bit and then thought man I don’t wanna still be walking at dark when the animal that destroyed this deer is lurking around. Probably my good friend the cougar. I also thought about how much darker it is when you are surrounded by trees.
So I decided to take the 2.1 miles out to another road which ended me up probably 20 miles away from the car if you follow the roads. This trailhead nowhere close to a town either but at least there I would be out of the hiking zone and able to follow the roads.
I was hoping to catch someone in the trailhead carpark so they could give me a lift at least to the nearest town. I had already been walking so much I could hardly be bothered anymore. I ran at times then stopped. Then something inside me said, run for 3 minutes, just do it. I thought ‘man I’m already worn out, this better be you God’, so off I went and just before the end of the track I caught two hikers I had seen earlier in the day and explained my situation to them.
They gave me a lift back to the car and then I drove to the information place to try to find a backpackers for the night before it got dark, also reducing the chances of a $100 fine. It was closed, but I saw two people sitting out the front and asked them instead. We got talking a little and the lady asked about my scratched up arms which at this point really did feel like they were on fire. The woman hopped in the car with me and guided me back to their house to get some cream while her husband walked back to the house, I thought that was pretty trusting.
When she couldn’t find any she got in her car and got me to follow her to the store to get some before it closed. We got there just before 8 and got the cream which you have to rub in and wash off under water. Afraid the backpackers wouldn’t have showers they invited me back to their house to take one…aaaah sweet shower, the second, third, and fourth so far. They had already said I was welcome to stay so I ate dinner with them (all organic too), listen to them talk about Spiritual stuff (Vedic’s, Jesus, energy and auras) and stayed the night, where and I am currently writing this from, sure beats scabbing free wireless from out the front of an IGA!!
Our gracious God is most certainly looking out for me. Its unbelievable.
Other random thoughts
* I ended up staying two nights with those people who were extremely spiritual. Their focus on ‘living in the light’ and the love and care they showed me was amazing. While they probably don’t hold to orthodox Christian beliefs I can’t help but wonder at their connection with God which they generally call ‘Light being’ or ‘divine spirit.’ Which sorta freaked me out a bit at first but is really just another valid term for God, one I am not used to hearing. It’s funny, but I think most of the converting we are worried about is converting someone to our ‘type’ or ‘expression of faith’ rather than just to faith itself. As Derek Webb would put it “domesticating you to look just like me”…
Other religions are something we can learn from don’t have to be afraid of them. So I am deciding to listen, instead of switching off and keeping my spiritual tunnel vision. Obviously I want to follow Jesus with all my heart (sometimes not all) but there are many different ways to do that. Either way these verses come to mind.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God (Romans
But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness and self control. (Galatians 5:22-23)
The whole big passage on love in (1 John 4:7-21)
** Just today I got back from a church where I was greeted with a “Hi, what’s your name, do you know Jesus?” It makes me feel uncomfortable enough I can’t imagine how much more to an unchurched person. Although the man who asked me was genuinely a kind, sweet and caring guy.
In the service they talked about the power of the tongue. Pulling out the verse ‘the tongue has the power of life and death’ Proverbs 18:21 and making it mean if you say negative things you’ll reap negative consequences. As if saying ‘everything’s going wrong’ will inevitably turn the rest of the day to rubbish, Or shouting ‘life’s good’ will make it so.
My understanding of the verse is that it’s talking about watching what we say and making sure we’re building others up with our words. Not this whole ‘if you speak it, it will come to pass’ movement that seems to be gaining popularity in churches. The only thing I can see wrong with saying ‘this train’s always late’ or ‘it never gunna work’ is it’s associated negative attitude.
*** I have recently been shown a lot of pride in my life that needs to do as I am and “take a hike” It really bothers me and I feel like its something I shouldn’t even struggle with.
**** A month ago I was telling Mark my two biggest fears, which were.
1) Being alone!!
No better way to overcome that than to go halfway round the world hiking by yourself. It really has been hard since Mark left. Nobodies company, nobody to share these experiences with and nobody to distract the wild bears! The truth of Gods statement ‘it’s not good for man to be alone’ is hitting home harder than ever.
2) Not being noticed, a wasted life.
A nightmare of mine would be to be laying in a casket at the end of my life and not hearing one positive thing about my life from those attending the funeral. To waste a life on things so unimportant and inconsequential always makes me shudder. To stand before God with a completely wasted life and be haunted with the memory of what you could have done. Maybe this could be what hell is, maybe this will bring on the ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’…most of the Bible passages to do with ‘hell’ are about wasted, fruitless lives.
***** A little while ago a guy named Caleb came and spoke to the youth group about the Creation/Evolution issue. The best thing about it was how humble he was and how his desire to find truth far outweighed his desire to hold onto a certain view of the Bible. His talks further convinced me that it’s either one or the other, that evolution and God are incompatible. After that big email I sent out a long time ago I got only a few attempts to justify how they are. None of them helped explain the dilemma of this apparently ‘good’ God of ours creating through death and natural selection. The best answer I got was something along the lines of ‘some people don’t see death as a bad thing but as the cycle of life’, which didn’t satisfy me at all. As well as that there is still the issue of explaining death before sin which would be the case if life evolved to what it is today. Until these questions are satisfactorily answered and solid science, based on reasonable assumptions backs this theory up I am not inclined to believe it, and I really can’t see how other Christians can... Happy to be shown though. J
****** It seems like I shy away from reading stories about Paul and the other new testament church leaders because their lives seem so far from what I am experiencing. So perfect, so full of purpose, nothing ever seems to go wrong, people are healed, they are all making a visible impact. I feel I identify more with the Israelites and the characters in the old testament who make mistakes, who get impatient and angry, who get things wrong; who to me, seem more human. They still love God but it’s not all walking on the ridges of mountaintops.
Anyway speaking of mountaintops I better get going to my next destination before it gets dark. The 'free internet' library is closing soon too!!
Hope you are all doing well,
Love Andrew
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