Salted Rim

This is mostly a teaser since I haven’t posted in such a long time. I have been reading the book Naked Economics. It has been a wonderful read. I already enjoy economics but Charles Wheelan explains and applies the theories in terms that aren’t incomprehensible and boring. One area of interest, especially for those connected to work in the developing world or the most poor around the world, is that of wealth creation, or in development terms income generation, and how that happens.

In very simple terms, productivity equals wealth creation or income generation. The more highly productive someone is the more opportunities they have to generate income and eventually wealth. This brings us to the 10 million dollar question: why are some countries rich and others poor? I don’t want to sound over simplistic but I have been working through and struggling with this very question as it relates to productivity. How do different countries compare to the rest of the world in poverty, income distribution, and productivity and how does that relate to their per capita income?

I am no economist and I think it is far more complex than simply increasing production, but at the same time thinking though the policy issues, the corruption, rule of law and myriads of other factors involved, how much would/could change if everyone understood that by increasing production there is an opportunity to generate more income and thus create wealth? This is a question and thought that has been running through my head; hopefully there will be more to come on this topic in the future.

If you have thoughts you would like to share on this topic please comment or send me a message through email or Facebook. This is an invitation for us all to consider the realities of this world and how we might change the story for the so many around the world living in despair because of extreme poverty. This isn’t an economic issue alone, it isn’t a justice or policy issue alone, but it is without a doubt a Biblical issue, it is a part of our brokenness that undoubtedly weighs on the Father.

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I am not an experienced aid worker or the CEO of a major NGO; although I have traveled nearly around the world. The dynamic of western relief must change. The dynamic of how we in the west look at challenges and their solutions domestically and internationally must change.

Christians must embrace a personal responsibility not rely solely on the prayers and invisible hand of God to correct all that is wrong. We must embrace people and show love as Christ loved. Christians must stand to the challenge of the prophetic voices of our time. No longer will an aid package be the answer. Well-fare is no longer the only solution.

Christians have a concern for the state of our society and the souls of that society. It is time that we own the problems and be the solutions the answers to the prayers of the masses. The church can no longer be just interested in saving peoples souls. Nor can they be entirely interested in notching another soul onto their belt of success. The ministry that Jesus calls us to be part of is not one of getting people saved alone, but bringing people to life and one lived well.

Challenge our ideas about education and our roles in education. Running to the private schools will never be the answer to the question of salvation for the lost or of owning a problem in society while functioning as the solution.

I was once a recruiter for a missions agency. My role included but not limited to engaging college students with the world beyond their world. To tell those stories that go untold. The question is how can we be Jesus the great physician, how can we be Jesus the master chef, how can we be Jesus the teacher and mentor, how can we be pastors, finally how will we be the hands and feet of Jesus.

How can we afford to pay for things like this? Who will pay for it? All great questions, but far less important than who will go. You see for me out there where the people are, money is not the greatest need people who love and sacrifice are the greatest need.

Money can buy all kinds of things it can feed people for days. However, people you see can feed people or better yet help people to feed themselves for life. You see your checks are important the money we give is crucial, but more than money, we need people. Money does not save anybody. People led by the will of God and his compassion, acting as reconciliatory agents for His world.

The king of pop as weird or strange as he could be engages this idea with a challenging message for Christians in this world with his song, “Man in the Mirror.”  It is in that song where the true trial, what our Muslims friends call Jihad starts. I can only ask people to do so much but at some point, I have to buy what I am selling.

I am a bartender and I sell food and drink. I am there to provide an experience but the I limit myself by how well I know the very experience that I am selling. We have to start with ourselves. We have to look in the mirror and stop ignoring the problems we see and passing responsibility off on the government or the minority population of any congregation that bears majority burden.

We cannot be those who identify the problem but only complain about the jobs of those who are actively working to be the solutions. I have to challenge us with more than a thought. Our lives have more meaning than merely that which we might have thought or said. Jesus’ life was remembered as much or more by what he did as to what he said the Gospel’s are full of the things he did.

Today I challenge you to consider the problems of society, the neighborhood, the school, the … you fill in the blank. Identify the problem and seek out an opportunity to be the solution. Find those who are interested to help and rally the community to fix or improve what is not at it’s best. We might find that the very children the laborers of God might answer the prayers that people have been praying.

Matthew 9
³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

What do you get with two socially conscious, missions minded Christian college graduates, on a road trip through a state where hitchhiking is not illegal? A great story….

I find that every trip I go on in some way brings great stories. Ranging from friends left behind in Venice, Italy, sharing a bungalow with an Australian met only 20 minutes prior or picking up some hitchhikers at a gas station in Oregon.

Starting from the beginning we flew from Indianapolis to San Francisco by way of Cincinnati (that always makes sense). Arriving at 9:30 PM local time 12:30 PM our body time. We picked up a rental car and arrived at our host’s house (whom we had never met before) by 11 PM, only to leave by 9 AM the next morning after breakfast and some conversation.

Heading out to blaze our trail along the coast, we enjoyed the endless beauty and majesty. For us as Christians it was a never-ending testament to God’s perfect creation and his mastery of creativity and balance.

We shortly realized we would spend the next 2 days on that road so we jumped to the state highway.

We saw several hitchhikers along the way. It was always a battle, when should we stop and whom should we pick up? How do we make this a question of wisdom while reaching out to those in need?

Sure enough, the necessity of gas came our way and along with 3 travelers needing a ride in the same direction.

Adam traded gas money for a couple of gemstones from a guy named Gypsy. He was on a pilgrimage of what kind I do not know. Sounded to me he was a professional groupie for various indy music artists with a special appreciation for marijuana.

All would agree the guy was a little crazy at best. “He had to be on something it couldn’t be just a little weed,” said Chris (a hitchhiker). His van that he sold once for 3 oz. of weed (marijuana), and now had back but was adding water, gas and oil almost as fast as they were leaking.

Adam offered to give them a ride to which I agreed openly. We saw the need several times that day and this one seemed to fall in our laps. I will admit it was a great experience.

After being on the road for 15 hours, I was glad to have some extra travelers around to share stories and talk about life.

We thought it strange that somebody would rather hitch a ride than own a car or buy a plane ticket but for them the journey was worth the sacrifice.

I am not sure if they would even think it a sacrifice. Life was always lived sharing a perfect balance of dependency and generosity.

In Indiana and Tennessee the places I have lived, hitch hiking isn’t common nor is it legal. For Adam and I it was hard to know how to respond to such a request.

Our instincts and our parents often tell us to drive on it isn’t safe. What if they rob or hurt you? There is also a prison near by so they are probably criminals who wouldn’t be safe, said Shannon the bride and college friend to which we were traveling to see.

It is interesting because from a Biblical perspective I don’t know if we are given that leniency. Jesus teaches his followers to be hospitable among other things to give to the needy and show love to the lost.

As a traveler, myself I am not sure how to always extend these principles it is one thing to show these hospitable characteristics in our theoretical conversations but somehow when those situations arrive the rules seem to change.

I think as we continue to attempt to live in a way that could reach out to the lonely and lost it is often only then that we really start to understand clearly the truth of the Gospel and the heart of Christ.

Not to say that you have to pick up hitchhikers to understand the Gospel or the heart of Christ but it sure helps. There is something to the idea that people who seek and exist in that context are rewarded in much more ambiguous ways but are just as happy as anybody.

I challenge you to respond as Christ did with those in need. Respond wisely, with love and compassion to his people.

In the same way Adam and I couldn’t take these travelers to Washington state where they were headed we could only get them to Turner Oregon.

It is also very important that the LORD gives us opportunities to be confessional with our lives so that others might know the truth that is Christ through the way his people live.

Restaurants are funny places. They happen to be a place where any array of different things may happen despite what we presume should happen. This is true often for both the team working to serve you the guest and then of course the guests.  As a restaurant worker who works hard to ensure that I give every guest my best possible service every time I want to offer a few suggestions that might aid in creating an environment for a great dining experience. Here is a thought for the day. . . We all know how much everybody hates tipping. It is important though to realize that servers don’t get paid a real wage. On average depending on the location of the restaurant they will be paid between 2 and 3 dollars an hour. While this seems terribly unfair it is the way the system controls the cost you pay for your food as well as ensuring that their staff is motivated to serve you the best they can. Church goers you should know that you are generally disliked in the restaurant business. The ones who preach grace seem to be the worst at showing grace.For the church goers in the crowd I understand your desire to enjoy a meal out after church on Sunday’s I often do myself. It is important though for the sake of the church and for the sake of being salt of the earth as we are instructed in the gospels we should tip well not just average or normal but well.We should not be known as the people whom we would rather not be served. While it seems to make sense for us that Jesus will take care of us tracks tend not to pay bills consider the people we interact with and start thinking about those we affect everyday.Consider starting your tip percentage at twenty fluctuating lower and high as you see fit but knowing that part of the cost of eating out is not the price on the tab alone but an additional 15+ percent for the server who took his sunday morning and afternoon to ensure that you had a good meal to eat. I know we have high expectations about life and we think we know how things should happen but we often don’t. It took me several months working 40 hours a week in a restaurant before I began to start to grasp all the chaos the normatively occurs. It took me that long to understand why things are easily accessible by all. Know that the way you order a steak is significant but it is also significant for you to remember that there might be as many as 25 or 30 steaks on a grill so if yours isn’t just the way you think it should be grace should abound.Know that if a server forgets a salad merely ask him don’t sit and steam because you are one of several tables and guests that he or she is attempting to please all at the same time.Don’t feel bad asking for additional condiments or food items but allow time for them to get to your table once again there are several tasks your server is systematically performing at the same time. It is important that we the church be the most understanding. It isn’t that we should have no expectations of professionalism and respect or excellence but that we take in special consideration what has happened and why that has happened. Considering who has control over those issues and remembering that these folks are doings jobs of service to us and we should be grateful for an opportunity to eat and be served.I am not wanting to speak angrily or to chastise the church for a grave injustice but to shed some light on the reality of society and my experience and embarrassment as one of those Christians who is often defending the sad truth that we in the restaurant face every Sunday.