I am walking over to the church from our home just before dark. A man of color, wearing dirty clothes calls me over. He has a large garbage bag held in both hands. He asks me if I can bring the cans and bottles he has collected into the nearby ‘Party Store’ so he can make some money on their deposit value. This man is homeless, and naturally in our society his condition is only further enumerated by his ostracization from commerce. His eyes are yellow, possibly from jaundice, and his hands are callused and cracked. I ask him what he needs prayer for and he responds by saying, “Nothing man, life is good.”
I spent the summer of 2011 living in a missionary community in an impoverished town just outside of Detroit. Of all the people we experienced doing our ministry, Eugene was one of the three who created the most lasting impression on me. The Party Store wasn’t taking anymore cans that day, so other than giving him bus tokens so he could get to another can depository this was my only experience with him.
I remember the smile which was not a front to preserve an image of having it all together, but rather was only capable via an incredible understanding of both the finite role we all play in the shallow façade of modernity and the infinite things of far greater reality which outnumber and dwarf the value and utility of the aforementioned movement of a class willingly indenturing themselves to an idol of commoditization. Simply put, he knew better than to be distracted by the trees, he saw the forest beyond and understanding his role in it, finding peace and a place in which he truly captured the essence of Matthew 6:26, “Behold the birds of the air, for they neither sow, nor do they reap, nor gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not you of much more value than they?”
My point here is not to argue against the priorities of society and the world, though I see them as flawed and am apt to make such an argument, but rather to seek a better understanding of my role in that juxtaposition. My will is very much in favor of devoting myself to systematic and societal reform to overcome the shortcomings caused by the rampant greed, ignorance, and apathy that make up the lifeblood of the seemingly developed world. I received three degrees in my undergrad to accomplish that end. Is this though what it means to have my God given vocation be justice and peace?
Jesus did not end hunger, Jesus did not end slavery, and while he preached on active non-violence and resistance to oppression he never staged a political revolution. We all know Matthew 25:36-37, “For I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: naked, and you covered me: sick, and you visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me.” I have been challenged not by the things I have seen or experienced here in the developed world, by rather in the equating of the gospel and the way in which my schema says the ‘problems’ ought to be fixed.
The solutions of the world do not have the content nature demonstrated by Christ’s approach or priorities when dealing with these things, even if they are from the Christian position of love. They lack the peace. There is true joy to be found in the reckless abandon that is the decision to have reverent peace in the face of seemingly insurmountable evil. It is injustice because it goes against the natural moral law ordained for humanity by God, but there is a joy that goes with being pleasantly content while dutifully acting in accordance with the even more intimately ordained will He has for each of us. Jesus is the answer, but as we all should ask daily as we better unite ourselves with our savior, “What does that look like in my life?”
I close by quoting my own words from three years ago from the days following Eugene and my meeting, seeing on the faces of Central America both his smile but also eyes which call for a change in the prevalent social trajectory:
Wouldn’t the world be better if more people could take up this peace, contentment, and joy? A world fueled by greed and overconsumption only slowed in moments of unobtainable want and an untouchable dream held on a high pillar out of reach from any questioning. The baby boomers, generation ‘X’ers, and the MTV kids, we are all in need of this humble man’s attitude. I need this man’s attitude.
In my pursuit of justice and ‘truth’, in my attempts to find all the answers to solve all of the problems, I forget that we are all called to have this joy. Not only that, but that his joy, the attitude of this man on the street is far more effective at solving the problems of the world than any amount of pessimism, even if it holds knowledge of our world’s rights and wrongs.
The theologian Janet Smith told a story about how during her own prayer she realized that God did not need her and it was silly to think it so. The same is true with me. God does not need me to fix the world, so I need to stop acting under a mindset that assumes this.
What is next? I do not know. For now I am struggling to close my books of economic research and ideas and to pray more intentionally with open eyes and listening ears; to ready myself to better experience God’s will.
To be ready to be the tool and not the solution.
This is the last chance to send me questions for my Question and Answer blog. I already have a solid bunch of questions from Facebook, but feel free to leave a question in the comments or to email me and I will add it to the blog before it is posted. They can be about life in Latin America, the ministry we have been doing, or life on the World Race in general.
Finally, please consider supporting me as I continue to work toward my next financial goal, a goal that I am slightly behind on meeting. The apostles of the early church relied on donations to spread the Gospel, and the same is true of missionaries such as myself on the modern missions frontier. Be it by clicking the support me button on the top menu to the left, sharing this blog, or saying a prayer for my fundraising, it all helps me out!
*Want to help make more moments like the one described here? Without the financial assistance of others, this trip, or any missions work for that matter, would not be possible. Paul requested the early churches to support missionaries financially (Romans 16:1-2) and in fact Jesus himself instructed those going out to witness to the world to have faith be reliant on their communities to support them (Matthew 10:5-15). I need to raise an additional $3,000 in the next two months to stay in the missions field. Please consider making a donation to support my missions work by clicking here.
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