As many of you have heard me mention before, my office away from the office is Homers Coffee House. Think of it like a Christian version of the bar Cheers with lattes instead of liquor. Everyone actually does know my name. Grin! Not only is it an easy two blocks from my house, but it was the first place that helped me to an HPS Network fundraiser soon after I was diagnosed.
Needless to say, I do go and hang out at Homers, usually when I’ve got a lot of work to do but have a bad case of cabin fever. One of the things I like about it is people watching. It isn’t that I’m trying to ease drop really, but sometimes you overhear some of the most interesting conversations.
Two days this month I’ve found myself working at Homers during the day – something that’s a bit unusual for me. I’ve had to go home because of a bleeding incident, but my internet connection has been wonky (even with new baby) and when I need on the net, I really need on the net. So, when I’ve managed to at least contain my HPS disasters, I go to Homers to work. If, heaven forbid, a problem develops, it’s an easy two-block walk home to fix the problem.
One thing I’ve learned is that the daytime crowd, not surprisingly, is very different than the night crowd. It seems as though a large part of the daytime crowd are small or self-employed business people that use Homers as a place to meet clients.
A few days ago I was sitting next to two gentleman that were clearly engaged in a business meeting. They were obviously friends, obviously attended the same church, but one was the other’s financial advisor and seemed to be playing a mentor role. They sipped coffee and discussed investment strategies for sums of money I’ll likely never see in my lifetime.
And when their business was completed, their conversation turned to a much more spiritual nature. Frankly, I was so offended and disturbed by it that it hasn’t left my brain since. It’s had me thinking a lot about money – not just the making of it – but rather what it really means and what God expects of us when it comes to finances. Why is it that some people are so financially blessed while others constantly struggle?
As the conversation shifted, the man who was the financial advisor began to talk to the other man about the spiritual responsibility of money and how he wanted to use some of his wealth to “help the poor.” Great! Wow! What a guy….I was impressed….until the next part of the conversation. The man went on to talk about “those people” who just weren’t very bright, or responsible, or in his mind, moral.
This conversation went on between the two men for another half hour. What disturbed me about it wasn’t their charitable natures, but rather the way they talked about the people they supposedly wanted to help. There was way to much use of the word “them” or “those people” or “people like that.” There was such a tone of arrogance about their conversation.
It became pretty clear listening to the conversation that both men were hard workers and careful savers. They were planners, carefully plotting their futures and building on the fruits of their labor. They had done all the right things and had earned their good fortunes. They had “done it.”
But maybe that’s the problem. They think they did it.
I don’t doubt that they worked hard, but I wonder if they recognize that there are plenty of other people in this world that did all the right things too, and yet aren’t meeting a financial advisor in the middle of the afternoon for a latte to discuss how to move around hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Contrary to the popular belief of some of my more conservative friends, I’m not a complete socialist. I recognize that there has to be incentives in our culture to encourage people to “do the right things” and work hard and save. And there are plenty of financially successful people who did just that – and they deserve credit for it.
But I do venture to argue that no one is independently successful – no one gets ahead in a bubble. Some people have more family connections than others. Some people have more family support than others. Some people grew up in families that understand the risky nature of business better than others. Some people were blessed with better health (and thus no medical expenses) unlike others. Some had access to a better education and better mentors than others. Some had better old-fashioned luck than others. Some hired better employees than others. The list could go on and on. How quick we can be to take credit rather than share it.
Likewise, there are people in dire straits because of poor choices they’ve made, whether those choices were intentional or made simply out of a lack of knowing better. There really are some lazy people out there. But are there perhaps people out there that God has blessed in so many other ways besides financially? Don’t they play as important a role in the world as anyone else?
But who are we to really know who is who? Who are we to sit in judgment, not fully knowing anything about another person’s life?
When I was in college one of my very favorite professors was from Cuba. He had been the equivalent of a supreme court justice back home. But, after having some sort of falling out with Castro and after spending a year in prison, he found himself with his wife and a toddler in Florida. He worked as a janitor for minimum wage while he learned English. He was a brilliant and very caring man. I wonder how many people only saw him as the guy that cleaned the toilets?
I believe God honors people who care for the needs of others. But shouldn’t we care for one another because we are the same, not because we are different? Shouldn’t we help one another, not because one of us is “above” or “more blessed” than the other, but because we are all children of God – all equal siblings in that family with a duty to bring out one another’s strengths?
Just a thought.
Putting away the soapbox.
Needless to say, I do go and hang out at Homers, usually when I’ve got a lot of work to do but have a bad case of cabin fever. One of the things I like about it is people watching. It isn’t that I’m trying to ease drop really, but sometimes you overhear some of the most interesting conversations.
Two days this month I’ve found myself working at Homers during the day – something that’s a bit unusual for me. I’ve had to go home because of a bleeding incident, but my internet connection has been wonky (even with new baby) and when I need on the net, I really need on the net. So, when I’ve managed to at least contain my HPS disasters, I go to Homers to work. If, heaven forbid, a problem develops, it’s an easy two-block walk home to fix the problem.
One thing I’ve learned is that the daytime crowd, not surprisingly, is very different than the night crowd. It seems as though a large part of the daytime crowd are small or self-employed business people that use Homers as a place to meet clients.
A few days ago I was sitting next to two gentleman that were clearly engaged in a business meeting. They were obviously friends, obviously attended the same church, but one was the other’s financial advisor and seemed to be playing a mentor role. They sipped coffee and discussed investment strategies for sums of money I’ll likely never see in my lifetime.
And when their business was completed, their conversation turned to a much more spiritual nature. Frankly, I was so offended and disturbed by it that it hasn’t left my brain since. It’s had me thinking a lot about money – not just the making of it – but rather what it really means and what God expects of us when it comes to finances. Why is it that some people are so financially blessed while others constantly struggle?
As the conversation shifted, the man who was the financial advisor began to talk to the other man about the spiritual responsibility of money and how he wanted to use some of his wealth to “help the poor.” Great! Wow! What a guy….I was impressed….until the next part of the conversation. The man went on to talk about “those people” who just weren’t very bright, or responsible, or in his mind, moral.
This conversation went on between the two men for another half hour. What disturbed me about it wasn’t their charitable natures, but rather the way they talked about the people they supposedly wanted to help. There was way to much use of the word “them” or “those people” or “people like that.” There was such a tone of arrogance about their conversation.
It became pretty clear listening to the conversation that both men were hard workers and careful savers. They were planners, carefully plotting their futures and building on the fruits of their labor. They had done all the right things and had earned their good fortunes. They had “done it.”
But maybe that’s the problem. They think they did it.
I don’t doubt that they worked hard, but I wonder if they recognize that there are plenty of other people in this world that did all the right things too, and yet aren’t meeting a financial advisor in the middle of the afternoon for a latte to discuss how to move around hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Contrary to the popular belief of some of my more conservative friends, I’m not a complete socialist. I recognize that there has to be incentives in our culture to encourage people to “do the right things” and work hard and save. And there are plenty of financially successful people who did just that – and they deserve credit for it.
But I do venture to argue that no one is independently successful – no one gets ahead in a bubble. Some people have more family connections than others. Some people have more family support than others. Some people grew up in families that understand the risky nature of business better than others. Some people were blessed with better health (and thus no medical expenses) unlike others. Some had access to a better education and better mentors than others. Some had better old-fashioned luck than others. Some hired better employees than others. The list could go on and on. How quick we can be to take credit rather than share it.
Likewise, there are people in dire straits because of poor choices they’ve made, whether those choices were intentional or made simply out of a lack of knowing better. There really are some lazy people out there. But are there perhaps people out there that God has blessed in so many other ways besides financially? Don’t they play as important a role in the world as anyone else?
But who are we to really know who is who? Who are we to sit in judgment, not fully knowing anything about another person’s life?
When I was in college one of my very favorite professors was from Cuba. He had been the equivalent of a supreme court justice back home. But, after having some sort of falling out with Castro and after spending a year in prison, he found himself with his wife and a toddler in Florida. He worked as a janitor for minimum wage while he learned English. He was a brilliant and very caring man. I wonder how many people only saw him as the guy that cleaned the toilets?
I believe God honors people who care for the needs of others. But shouldn’t we care for one another because we are the same, not because we are different? Shouldn’t we help one another, not because one of us is “above” or “more blessed” than the other, but because we are all children of God – all equal siblings in that family with a duty to bring out one another’s strengths?
Just a thought.
Putting away the soapbox.
Comments
Point well taken - money is money, charity is charity - and I certianly am not one to question anyone's motivation for donating when they donate to one of my causes. When your starving you don't care why someone gives you a peice of bread.
But, it just didn't seem like theology was matching up with the motivations.