So I’ve been thinking a lot about what I should learn from this experience. What is the lesson here? Why did I feel called to do this type of fast for Lent? I think it may have something to do with balance. The fasting and the feast. It’s been the running theme in my head these last few weeks. The selfish me on the inside will never really appreciate the feast, without the fast. Spending less money, helps me to better appreciate the things I have now. But ultimately, spending less means consuming less. Doing without. Being happy with what I have. Not going into Target for shampoo and coming out $200 poorer. Choosing to live with less.
What if we all chose to live on 75% of our income, and systematically gave away the rest? What good could I do for someone else with 25% of my income?
In the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess (the book that inspired this Lent fast) Jen Hatmaker says this:
Nonconsumption. This is the simplest and hardest. It takes true courage to rage against this machine. Could we be countercultural enough to say, “We’re not buying that. We don’t need that. We’ll make due with what we have. We’ll use the stuff we already own. ” If this causes anxiety, I’m with you, trust me. Because who does that? Who curbs their appetites anymore? Who uses old stuff when they could buy new stuff? Who sews patches on jeans or uses last years backpacks? Who says ‘no’ when they can afford to say ‘yes’?
Yes, who? Not me. I buy things and buy them and buy them until I am engorged with stuff…..all while someone else goes without. What if, what if we are supposed to live like the members of the first church. Pool our resources, so that nobody has too much and nobody goes without? What if we chose to look at our income not as something earned, but as a gift? A gift that we can freely give to others?
Back to balance. I don’t think Jesus wants us to live in poverty. I don’t think we have to fast all the time. But I do believe that when our love of money is stronger than our love for our neighbor, we have a problem. When we throw away food, while our neighbor is hungry, there is no balance. When I buy more things while you have nothing…..I am a camel, on this side of the needle, trying to squeeze through unnoticed.
I leave you with this clip of Jen Hatmaker speaking about when she did this month of 7. The first half of the clip is an advertisement for a non-profit, but the second half is Jen with some wisdom on spending. She offers a little different perspective on the verse in Matthew, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I concur.