The Greed Conspiracy Let me tell you a little story…
At the beginning of this summer, I landed a job at Fedex. The job was only part time, although full time was offered to me after a while. I will tell you, this job hired anyone from any background. After meeting a few of my associate employee contemporaries, I realized that some of them had done jail time, many of them wanted to offer me marijuana, and all of them had to put a sizeable amount of energy into each workday. This job was straight up physical labor, some of the guys described it was a full time job crammed into part time hours (and pay).

The good thing about this job was that I could see the results. I could count how many trucks I unloaded, and watch the packages travel down the conveyor belts. Without us, the package handlers, Fedex would not exist.

Oh yeah, the pay rate for a full time Fedex employee who has been with the company for more than five years is definitely still at poverty level. The part timers received less than 10$ per hour.

The interesting part about this job was that it was dominated by men.

For now I am going to continue to believe that many of them are there because they choose to be there, not because they are stuck there.

After about a month of working my tail off (although I believe my body never looked better), I quit Fedex and began work through a temp agency. Those being hired had to pass certain tests to prove their communication skills and professional temperament. This new job was completely different. Instead of part time it was full time, and paid better than 10$ per hour. Here’s what I did:
Sit in front of a computer all day long and enter data into a computer while listening to music and talking with people. I got better pay for nearly mindless, motionless action whose only threat to me was dulling my intellect and breaking my will to dream.

The maddening thing about this job was that I could not see the results. I was putting information into a screen, helping organize and shuffle loads of information to its proper storage place.

The other interesting part about this job was that it was dominated by women.
These two experiences got me thinking about working, and employers. I began to become angry with invisible corporate leaders who were obviously keeping the wealth and keeping us little guys in our place. I wrestled and wrestled with this in my mind for several weeks (not very productive, honestly).

I looked around me and saw many different creative people who had a great work ethic, but who seemed to just barely get by. I thought about my own musical pursuit and how many walls were financial. I began to think about advertisements and how much money is used (wasted) trying to make all of us aware of the new flavor of Coke that is out.

I thought about the sports stars, movie stars, and corporate leaders who are worth millions. Half of the reason they are worth so much is because of their God-given gifts of physical or mental capabilities, something they did not work to acheive, but rather discovered. As I thought about the people around me, most of whom are able to make a pretty good living off of the lower-end jobs they have, I kept replaying the voices in my head saying, “I am poor, if only I could get a raise, or win the lottery, if only I had just a bit more money…”

Then I realized…this nation is plagued by a conspiracy of greed. Then I realized another chilling reality…I am in on it. Every time I attempt to place a monetary value on myself, I am guilty. Every time I stop the flow of money and attempt to build a small fortune, I am guilty. Every time I fail to give when I can (and sometime when I “can’t” afford it) I flirt with the conspiracy. Every time I spend a little extra something for entertainment on myself that I “earned” from my employer, I am threatening to live that lifestyle.

I’ll be honest, Jarod, every now and then I get this feeling that something huge needs to be done. But since I am no economist, I will end this letter at the point that I have already come to. I must rid myself of my own greed, and follow the Spirit’s leading on what I will do with what I’ve been given. This is where it starts…
Until next time,
Dave

  ¶ 4:47 PM 4 comments

  Singleness Jarod,

This e-mail may not have a lot of heart, but my mind is racing, plagued by these questions…

But first, I must say that I understand your dilemma and fear of committing to something that will cause you to put to death a part of yourself. Some laugh and assure me, “you are far too dramatic about the whole thing. Just make a decision and go with it.” But I look around and see examples where the wrong decision made for much life constriction, sometimes ending in very painful consequences. This is always a possibility. That is why I am trying harder and harder to trust in God’s timing. I am trying to believe that when the right time comes…I’ll take the opportunity. For now, it’s no crime to be single. Although sometimes I feel the pressure of those who have good intentions to “stop being so picky and make a decision.”

Earlier this summer I was in a small town church to visit with old friends and play music. I remember looking around and seeing all the couples. Young dating couples. Young married couples. Older married couples. Cute, elderly couples. And then there were the children and youth group. I began to understand why single Christians have a hard time going to church. It is easy for them to feel like they failed to take the next maturity step after leaving youth group. But as I drove back home to the heart of Columbus, Ohio, I felt more normal. Singleness seemed more commonly practiced and readily accepted in the city. Marriage (at an earlier age, maybe 22) seemed like a phenomenon in suburban and rural areas. There have been times in my life when a solid group of friends was just as emotionally and spiritually satisfying than any dating relationship I have had.

Rich Mullins once spoke about Sex and Self-Confidence. He talked about how we so often try to find our self worth in relation to our sexual life, and the elusive nature of this pursuit. From his perspective as a single man, he did not have the opportunity to even attempt to find his self worth through sex. I do not doubt that it was this loss that gave him even more opportunity to draw close to the heart of God. I wonder about celibacy, and how little Protestants seem to value it. We are quick to answer the Catholic priests, “Don’t incorporate works into our faith. We live by faith alone and are free to enjoy the pleasures God offers us.” I wonder how many Protestants would praise one of their own if he/she decided to remain celibate for spiritual purposes. I honestly don’t know. I don’t even know if they should.

Do I sometimes long to be in a relationship? Most definitely. I suppose that as I wait for God’s timing I must carefully prepare myself to be ready when/if the time comes. However, I want to be willing to accept and even embrace my singleness for the time being. If it is true that God meant for some of us to remain single, and if it so happens that God pushes me in that direction, I want to be ready to accept it without bitterness of heart, but with gladness and freedom of spirit.

Hmmm...somehow I didn't even touch the topic that I set out to write about. I'll save it for next time...

Truly,
Dave

  ¶ 2:02 PM 2 comments

  Commitment   ¶ 10:23 PM 0 comments