From Caterpillars to Butterflies?
Thanks to my friend Gary, I found this Seattle Times article about Bill Gates’ move into the world of philanthropy. It’s worth a read if nothing else for the conviction about the consumers that we have become as an American society. Here are the final paragraphs of the article.
He [Gates] is as complex as the software he makes, and so are the rest of us. Americans go into debt to buy the latest gadgets, let schools run down, then turn around and send billions of dollars to help flooded out New Orleans or bring aid to Third World disaster areas.
Our institutions and habits may be structured to support buying and selling, but we haven’t lost our souls yet. We know there is more to life than the latest version of the newest thing, which will soon enough become the next generation of clutter.
Of course, we usually follow a familiar insect pattern. We spend much of our lives as caterpillars, consuming until we grow fat enough to turn into butterflies and return some beauty to the world.
What do you think of that final analogy?
June 27th, 2006 at 9:17 am
Are schools run down due to lack of funding or poor management and lack of competition? I am stingy when it comes to supporting taxes for failed institutions. It’s very important that our giving be wise. Would you agree that giving can be harmful to the recipient?
June 27th, 2006 at 9:50 am
One of the first things I learned in my counseling education courses and have never forgotten was the simple statement……..TOO MUCH CHICKEN SOUP CAN BE POISON.
And in my nursing education I learned very quickly not to do for others what they can do for themselves.
Several years ago Chuck and I wanted to pay for one of our pastors to go to a conference. And he very politely turned us down stating “maybe God was teaching him something through his financial crisis at that time in his life” Had we gone ahead with our gift to him we would have perhaps blocked what God was trying to teach this young pastor.
By all means we must be generous in our giving,as was Pathways church, in my family’s hurricane crisis of last year. Yet I think we have to study all requests for assistance and pray before we give. And then give with a cheerful heart.
June 28th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
I would agree that it is dangerous to be given too much – which is why I believe it is so dangerous to live in the upper-middle class of America. We have been given much more than any society in the world and it is a great responsiblity. I, too, wrestle with how that is supposed to play out in the world in which we live. I just hope that we, as a Jesus community, never quit wrestling. One of the convictions that God has placed on my heart is that there are more verses in Scripture about serving the poor than any one thing. It is number one. My life has not truly reflected that truth.
June 29th, 2006 at 10:52 am
I have never met a person who has given away too much money. I have met people who have received too much money. It may be that people have too much money because they don’t give enough way. And too much money will be different for different people. I have met “poor” people who had too much money. It seems to me that it is an attitude of the heart. Where have we placed our trust? Jesus told us to love God and love people, so how does that play-out in terms of our money? Jesus also said that to whom much is given much is expected.