An Entire Life of Sadness…

I don’t have the time or energy right now to write a crafty response in reply to this comment, so I thought I would enlist the help of my brilliant friends to reply to this commenter with their own life experiences and thoughts.

The most popular post on my blog is entitled, Why I ditched Dave Ramsey. It’s gotten ton’s of comments, mostly it’s become a ground for folks to debt Dave Ramsey, but that wasn’t my intention. I originally posted that while Dave had written a caller’s concern about saving $30 a month on gas by driving a more economical and energy efficient car as being a ‘tight-wad.’ I felt he should have affirmed her concern and encouraged her to be a good steward and sacrificial steward with her finances. I said, “She was not being a “tight-wad” she was being a wise steward, one that sees the money she has been given not as her’s that God “blessed her” with, but for her to use wisely as God entrusted her with it.”

Yesterday, a reader replied with this comment:

As to the original blogger, geez, do you live your entire life in sadness? I think it’s great that you want to spend ALL your extra money sponsoring kids and such, but are you sure that’s God and not your own efforts to alleviate a “guilt complex” of some type for living a nice life in America? Enjoy the blessings God gave you and be wise with your money, and you can affect your world in far greater ways.”

I’d love to hear what you all think of that and your thoughts (even if you agree with him. Feel free to comment on this post or on the post after his comment.

17 thoughts on “An Entire Life of Sadness…”

  1. When I read his comment, I immediately wanted to post a reply, then I saw that you had already seen it and had made this post about it. I’m not totally surprised by his comment and I bet you’re not either. That type of response seems really common when they hear of what you and lots of other Christians around the world are becoming convicted of in their hearts. Anything too far from the norm must be crazy, right? I think they’re forgetting how “far from the norm” Jesus was. Jesus turned lots of conventional thinking on its head. His concern wasn’t on enjoying God’s blessing, but serving the Father. That’s our work on Earth, just as it was Jesus’. Does Ariah live a life of sadness? I know him, and his beautiful wife, his wonderful roommates, his amazing family, and one day soon I hope to meet his little baby girl. Ariah has been blessed by God in heaping, overflowing portions, pressed down and shaken together, and there is so much love in his heart because of the blessings he’s surrounded by. He has decided to get his happiness from God, from his family and friends, and from serving others, not from material possessions and money. You don’t need a TV or a nice car to be happy. You don’t even need a car. Just a bike that you can fix up yourself. The truth is, there is a lot of sadness in this world. The sadness in the world springs from lots of things: poverty, racism, oppression, violence, greed, hatred; sin. They are real and out there and affects billions of lives and it’s easy to forget about them at all in some parts of America. So are our only two options to, A. ignore them and happily live off the spoils of injustice, or B. embrace a life of sadness and live a sad, masochistic existence? No, those are not our only options. Ariah, for one, doesn’t live either of those options. He cares about people, so he must change how he lives, but God is in his life and showering blessings on Him, and so there is joy there. I think it’s great that he is taking partial-responsibility for the bad things in this world and is willing to change his habits in ways that help people, not take advantage of people.

  2. I would have to agree that there is certainly a leap in the connection between “enjoying the blessings” and money. I guess more people are going to have to live like Ariah so that people can see that Kingdom living is joy.

  3. While it is true that God loves a cheerful giver…we choose rather subjectively what will cause us to be happy…or sad. Having significance seems to be a more objective and justifiable goal these days but this needs to be differentiated from the seeking of fame, status or position. Being wise needs similar scrutiny. Buying a cheaper model which may wear out, require more maintenance and have a short life span may not be good economics or good for the environment. Being faithful to the call of Christ while sounding subjective can really be the only fully satisfying directive. This will obviously fall in the parameters of doing whatever it takes to love God and our neighbor with…all. My all and yours will vary and may look very different. From my perspective, Ariah’s “all” is very attractive for the cause of Christ.

  4. Ironic, because I just had a similar conversation in my bible study group last night. I was sharing my experience going to a local film festival called “Film Faith & Justice”, a christian/religious perspective on the International Human Rights film festival which included films, forums and speakers addressing human rights issues. Though many of those in my group shared my feelings that we should all be socially responsible, some apparently did not. A popular sentiment seems to be “it’s such a small drop in the bucket, why bother?”.

    These sentiments make me sad, for two reasons: 1, it feels like a discredit to my own personal journey of faith, where God has led me less and less to be caught up in the realm of money and possessions, and more of God (“He must become greater, I must become less”, John 3:30). 2nd, it makes me sad that people disconnect their pesonal spending habits (or even living habits) with their relationship with God. Does the gospel not say “whatever you did for the least of these you have done for me”? I feel like for us that can perhaps be interpreted as “whatever you did NOT do for the least of these, you have NOT done for me”.

    In other words, the human life behind the coffee beans that went into brewing my cup of coffee is a real, true human life, who is just as valuable as I am. When I choose to not honor this unknown person, I choose to neglect my Savior, who came not only to forgive us of our own sins, but also to “to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor”.

    I am the oppressor. I am the one who buys the cup of extra coffee, cheap tee-shirts and trinkets of little value. In the dozens (hundreds?) of verses describing God’s wrath against the oppressor, will this apply to me?

    Until we can turn inward we will forever be pointlessly pointing to some “other” oppressor, because, of course, it is always someone else’s problem.

  5. The part of this comment that struck me was “affect your world in far greater ways” when speaking about sponsoring a child. What “greater way” would he be speaking of? I think we have lost a huge understanding in our society that ALL society is made up of single human beings. His “far greater ways” no doubt means that he thinks you can’t make a difference by sponsoring a child. I think Jesus would disagree, based on the fact that he told the disciples to “Let the little children come to me.” It made a difference to that child. Everything makes a difference to the person you are doing it for. Jesus also said a follower must be willing to not have a place to lay his head, and agree with the comment above that I could never look at your lives and say you in any way “live a life of sadness.” If everyone who had this commenter’s attitude would learn to aid and love individuals in whatever positive ways they can, instead of thinking its a lost cause, THAT would be the key to effecting change. Oh, and FYI, Ariah, I started a blog and linked yours to it. http://www.tastethesea.wordpress.com

  6. she should do what she feels led, even if others consider it being a tightwad. he didnt call us to be popular, He called us to be obedient. something i have been failing at miserably lately.

  7. One part that I would agree with him is saying: make sure that it is God and not out of guilt. The Bible says God desires mercy, not offerings, so I think it’s a matter of the heart. I didn’t even look at the context of the post, so I think it depends on your heart, and that we are called to give all that we have, but if we are giving it with an empty heart or to quiet our consciences, God will despise our offerings.

  8. Wow! You got some really great, heart-warming and truth filled comments to this already. So, I’ll just say AMEN to Zach’s and Erika’s. 🙂

    Peace,
    Jamie

  9. Here’s a question I would need the answer to first: Does God call all of His followers to drive the most cost efficient cars available? What about public transportation? Couldn’t the argument be made that we all should use public transportation and give the savings to help others in need? Better yet, should we all buy bicycles? It’s radical, sure, but as one commenter correctly pointed out above, Jesus was “far from the norm.”

    Do I think your heart is in the right place? Probably, although I don’t know you so I can’t say for sure. Do I think your original post seemed a little overboard? Yeah, I do. I wonder if you are truly maximizing your savings each and every month in order to contribute that extra $0.75 you saved with the coupon to your local shelter. If you aren’t then I have news for you: You’re being exactly the thing that caused you to “ditch Dave.” Matthew 7:5.

    Great conversation.

  10. Wow, Thanks for all the positive comments everyone. I didn’t intend for this to be about me, but I appreciate the encouragement (and the challenge, Chris).

    I’ll offer a hearty amen to everyone, and mention to Chris, that yes, I do ride a bike.

  11. “do you live your entire life in sadness?” interesting that the writer chose those words. you seem to be generally upbeat and positive with what your doing. perhaps he thinks because you are sacrificing so much to try and do so much you must be sad because he would be sad doing the same?

    “Enjoy the blessings God gave you and be wise with your money, and you can affect your world in far greater ways.” sounds like you’re already doing this. well done you!

  12. What if we really believed the words “it is better to give than receive” (Christ’s words by the way!)? What is we really believed “to whom much is given much will be required?” what if we really believed “whatever you have done [or not done!] you have done unto me”?

    just a thought.

  13. I have never understood how people can believe in God in a society that sets us at each other throats. In nature in order for one animal to survive another must die. It is the same with humans, 1/2 the world lives in poverty, the other half lives in opulence (in comparison). To me this always spoke to survival, thus nature. It was evidence of nature not God. Would a God really create one’s survival at the death of another creature and if so is this a God worth worshipping?

    I do not mean to denigrate anyone’s belief simply to show why I have difficulty understanding it. I am not ignorant of religion. I have studied the Bible, the Torah, the Quran, the Bhagavad, the Tipitaka and many others. I just don’t understand faith.

  14. John,

    You ask some very good questions. I think your thoughts are ones that a lot of people struggle with, myself included at times.
    I think you might find situations though that give you a glimpse of a survival, a society, a way we were created that was not ‘at the death of another creature.’ I think you might find those to be truly how we were intended to live; what we were created for.
    I understand though that sometimes those glimpses seem few and far between in our world.
    I certainly don’t have the answers, but I hope you’ll stick around and read some more, and maybe you can understand a little more about why and how I’ve come to believe there is a Creator worth worshipping.

  15. i believe in god more than anything else because he’s the one who create us ,i mean that adam didnèt created himself from nothing after all he didn’t exist to create himself so there’s absolutely an other up level power that ceate humains and contorl our lives and this power is god.

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