The best investment

I have to admit that if I had been in the room when the woman poured that perfume on Jesus’ head I probably would have said the same thing. The Gospel of Matthew says that, “When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. ‘Why this waste?’ they asked. ‘This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.’” (Matthew 26:8-9)

Why is it that we so often value stuff over people?

I was raised to respect people’s property. It was one of the key values that I learned as a child. I still continue to live by that principle, but I have to be careful not to let the thing become more valuable that the person.

Living in a society where our value is often determined by our possessions really blurs the line. Rather than valuing the thing because it belongs to another person, we often allow ourselves to value the thing above the person.

Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to our stuff. How often do we allow our things to come between us and other people? Whether it’s coveting what someone else has or being so protective of our own things, we can allow what we have to become more important than another person.

In Act 2:44-45, Luke writes, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”

Imagine how much different things could be if we lived this way. What if instead of every person buying a lawnmower, a group of people bought one that they shared? What if a group of people decided to share a car instead of each of them having an extra vehicle?

Last year, I spent a weekend with the Rutba House community in Durham, North Carolina. This community lives in two houses near the campus of Duke University and they are committed to sharing life as a part of the New Monastic movement. In each of the houses you find a collection of people of different ages and life situations. From young singles to complete families, each house shares responsibilities, finances, and much more, and all under one roof!

I wonder what would happen if we could embrace some of these attitudes in our lives. Our society teaches us to build houses filled with empty rooms and furniture we seldom use. We own things that we could easy share with others, but we are led to believe that everyone needs one in their garage, kitchen, or basement.

We want to be self-sufficient and not have to rely on others, so we purchase possessions to enable us to take care of ourselves. How much consumption and accumulation would be unnecessary if we could change our views on stuff? Not only could it help us own less and be burdened by less, maybe it would help us learn how to live in connected community where we actually learn to value and depend on each other more.

 

shine!
Jason