hm... i think i'll deal with #3 at the end.
Material Things
I remember asking Christina to keep me accountable after coming back from China in regards to shopping. For a while before the trip, I found myself buying more than giving. Being stingy with others and generous with myself. And during the trip, I lived on so much less. It's possible to live that much more simply. But then again, I was away in a foreign place focused on something outside of myself.
Am I being legalistic by going through with this self-imposed "shopping fast?" One of the more stinging comments my parents made were "she has a dozen bags. do you need that many bags?" This was when I moved into my apartment.
Dude, I do have too many bags. shoot.
But I dunno, there's a difference between living comfortably and living in decadence. I don't need decadence. I think i need to be mindful of what I'm spending. I remember telling someone that I keep 99% of everything I buy and return 1% of it. So that means I would think before I buy. That's a good start. Maybe I should think harder. Yes, I do like this < article of clothing > and yes I think it's cute. ooo it's on sale. But, do I need it? That's the question of the century.
Tremendously blessed I am, but a good steward am I?
I dunno, Yoda, I dunno.
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Reflections of a pilgrim on her way home. Welcome. :)
About Me
- Roz
- Goals in life: To be well travelled, to read as many classics as possible, to study as much as possible, to have no regrets, to laugh until my side hurts, to be uninhibited (anyone sing/dance in the shower?) Goal in death: To be as much like Jesus Christ as possible
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"And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
3 comments:
My New York pastor, Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian church), gave a sermon series on the Biblical vices. He noticed when he got to greed, he had the lowest attendance that day. He said that greed is the one vice you struggle with, when you don't think you struggle with it at all. In other words, if you don't think you struggle with greed, then you do. The first step in combatting greed is to first recognize it in oneself, by doing exactly what you're doing already, asking yourself before each purchase, "Do I need this, or do I just want this?" Now, not to say it's necessarily wrong to buy things just because you want them, but it's important to always ask yourself those questions so that you don't fall into the trap of greed.
Since in general, the church (especially in the Chinese christian subculture) holds to a very conservative stance on dating, I'll just play devil's advocate, just to spur discussion. Dr. Keller also wrote an interesting paper on singleness and marriage, but, of note, he wrote about why Christians ought to date, though qualified by saying there are 'seasons' when Christian singles should not date. You can find the whole thing here. Pertaining to dating, he writes:
Rules of Thumb for Seasonal Marriage-Seeking
So how does a Christian single strike a balance between marriage-idolatry and marriage-avoiding? Seasonal marriage-seeking. In general, that means that while much of the time you can be relatively passive, waiting to 'come across' someone, there are other times in which you should be deliberately looking for prospective marriage partners among people that you may have overlooked. That is a balanced approach. Here are some rules of thumb.
Recognize the seasons for not doing marriage-seeking
There are many times or 'seasons' in which active dating and marriage-seeking do not have to be pursued. Anyone who always needs to 'have somebody' is probably in to marriage-idolatry.
Anyone who is never marriage-seeking is naive about your own sinful fears and perfectionism. When you are going through a significant transition--starting a new job, starting a new school, death of a parent, or some other fairly absorbing time or event--it might not at all be a good time to 'begin a relationship'. In fact, after some emotionally-charged times you might want to deliberately avoid marriage-seeking. In such situations, often your judgement is cloudy and your motives bad. During some times of healing or re-grouping you probably need deep Christian friendship more than marriage-seeking and dates.
C. But sans a 'season' or a 'gift' you should be actively dating and marriage seeking. Why?
·To affirm people of the opposite sex within the Christian community.
·To help one another learn the intricacies of cross-gender communication, discernment, and relationship
·To stay open to God's own leading about whether you should be married or not
·To avoid the contemporary idols that make dating and marriage very threatening
·To avoid avoiding. Dating and marriage-seeking is a process of self-discovery as well as understanding cross-gender relationships. Don't procrastinate.
Grr, I stink at html. Let me try again. You can find the essay here.
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