On the heels of this post on materialism, some ways forward emerged after some valuable discussions with my wife Amy and several commenters here.
One way forward is to share your house. Have other people stay with you. The present model of exactly one nuclear family living in a 2,000 square foot house is extremely odd in history’s eyes, and it’s a lot more expensive.
Amy and I were discussing this just a few minutes ago, and it seems that a lot of the materialism problem stems from people seeing their houses as “my house” or their property as “my property.” A missionary mentor, Monte Cox at Harding, spent many years with the Kalinjen (?) people of central Africa. He told us about his realization that his language was so self-centered: He was talking about “getting in my car, going to my church, preaching my sermon, talking to my church members, going back to my house, eating dinner with my wife and my kids, and living my life.” That’s a paraphrase, but it’s also a lot of “my”s.
Language like this has a subtle effect on us. We don’t realize how much we are influenced by our terminology, and how defensive we become about something once we identify it as ours. “Mine” implies “not yours,” which in turn requires security measures to prevent it from becoming yours - security measures we apply, in subtle ways, even to trusted friends.
What about “the car,” “the house,” “the Radiohead album,” about community property? This is what people practiced in some form or another for thousands of years. We have beautiful city parks that we respect as community property. Perhaps we need to see more of life that way.
I really believe THIS is the way forward. But it is also a way into the past isn’t it. The practice of communal sharing, of a “gift economy”, of believing as our scripture says that “nothing is our own.” But to get from where we are to that place will require real imagination, crativity, and practice.
I believe I was the recipient of exactly this kind of sharing hospitality from the believers.collective at SMC when I visited Seattle last year. Thanks to Jesse and Justin & Amy and others in your group, I rented no car, gave no money to the hotel industry, and ate homecooked meals. I was blessed by the sharing and the making of friends in ways I could not have been if I had done it “on my own.”
But gosh, Jimmy, that was risky for the both of us! Imagine that - we had to trust each other and trust God for that whole thing to work.
I’m glad it worked out. It was great having you here. If/when you come back you can bring your family and have your own bedroom, assuming our house deal goes through :).
This kind of language even causes problems within our family, as our new minivan (see previous post comment) became “my wife’s” new car. After taking it out one day and getting mud on the floor mats (not the original ones, those are buried under an added rubber liner and a couple layers of floor mats from Home Depot); my wife started complaining about how I was treating “her car”, and I finally replied in exasperation:
“Its not you’re van!”
“What?” my wife asked?
“Its God’s.” I replied.
To which she temporarily had no reply. She got me later on the “God would want you to take better care of it” but it didn’t have nearly the force of her original complaint.
Course if someone from the church called up and told me, “God needs his van back for something else,” I might take up arguing with them about it, but I would hope that I was at the point where I could at least stretch enought to let God borrow his van once in a while for a good cause. As long as he didn’t get too much mud on the floor mats.
I think we need to concentrate on what Jimmy said: “[T]o get from where we are to that place will require real imagination, creativity, and practice.”
What on earth can we do to get there?
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Whatever we have to use - ourselves, our world around of, our income, the blessing of family and friends…we should do to the glory of the Giver of all of it to us because He loves us. We do give account on how we spend our lives and all resources. In all things, be wise in heart and grateful.
A small abode or a large one can be coveted selfishly. Every one of us should be considering our homes , His.
We all do need shelter and a home we feel “at home “in. That is different for people and thus, so many lifestyles,places, and ways have been provided …and the means to work to have them.
May everyone feel at home in a place to lay their heads and love their families according to His generous gifts. May those who prevent those who work and honorably live from having what the Lord intended for us all, be defeat in all wicked ways.