A Great Way to Lose Weight

Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Luke 6:25


I stated in a previous post that I would be cogitating and blogging on real, practical ways to help poor people … and then I stopped blogging for about four months, perhaps leaving my reader (Hi, Mom!) with the impression that I had either lost steam with this blog or I didn’t have any bright ideas on the subject. Well, neither is true. I have been steadily working on this idea of how to really help poor people--it was frequently on my mind as we travelled through Bolivia, one of South America's poorest countries--and I do have some more ideas, like microlending that I blogged about some months ago, but I have not been in a season of blogging. So, just waiting for the season to change.

Meanwhile, the above scripture has been buzzing around in my head for some time, aching to be explored more fully. I quoted it to my daughter one day and she said, "Oh, no!" We both thought that was funny--ha ha, woe to us 'cause we are well-fed now! But wait, is God's word something to be taken so lightly?

Is this scripture one of those instances in which Jesus uses hyperbole, or did he actually mean this literally? Are we really headed for an eternity of hunger if we are well fed on earth? We could surely say, "No, God has provided for us abundantly and if it is God that provides the blessing, then it is meant to be enjoyed without fear of eternal penalty!" And further, how could we, sons and daughters of the Most High, go hungry for eternity, or even for a season in eternity? There is no punishment in Heaven, right?

Maybe this scripture means that if you are well fed now and are stingy toward God, then you will go hungry later. I'm recalling here the parable about the rich man who had a good crop and decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to hold all the harvest, thinking he would be set for some years and could just take it easy. But then God said to him, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you." Of him Jesus said, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (Read the whole parable in Luke 12.) Can we apply the teaching of this parable to being well fed? Maybe it is OK to have a bounty on your table everyday as long as you are giving God the credit for it, appreciating it, sharing it through acts of hospitality and not failing to give back to God the first fruits of your time and money. After all, we know there were many rich and faith-filled characters in the Bible: Abraham, Isaac, David, Solomon, Jabez and many more. Surely they were well fed! And if they were, could it be wrong for me to be?

Here's a question for you: Do you think that any of the well-fed faithful of the Bible were also overweight? I'm on a tangent here, but it is something God showed me. If you are not well fed, you cannot be overweight. And if you are not overweight, your "temple" is in better shape to be useful to and bring glory to God. Of course, there are genetic factors… but wait, why is it that there are no genetically fat people in the underfed parts of the world? Even a genetic predisposition, or being "big boned," cannot cause a starving person to look fat. Fatness comes from being too "well fed"--end of argument. So for those of us struggling with weight (count me in), this scripture holds a key to weight loss. Stop feeding yourself so well!

This scripture isn't just an indictment of the rotund, however, in fact, it doesn't mention being fat at all. Woe to you if you are well fed probably means having plenty to eat and eating it, regardless of what size you wear. Jesus also "woed" those who are rich now, because they have already received their comfort. So if you are well fed and rich--double your woe!

Double my woe, then, because I am well fed and, though not rich according to U.S. standards, according to the standards of all history and humanity combined--which are the ones I will be judged against--I am rich. I have net worth, clothes to give away and my own private mode of transportation! Okay, so I need to do something about this because I don’t want a double portion of woe. Let’s see what Jesus suggests: "Sell your possessions and give to the poor." Gulp. He follows this up by saying if we do this thing, we will have rewards in heaven (Matt 19:21). So let's add this up: If I am well fed and rich now, I am going to go hungry later and shouldn't be expecting an eternity of comfort, since I have already had mine. However, if I will just sell my possessions and give to the poor, then I won't be rich anymore and I won't be able to feed myself well anymore, cancelling my double woe, and to boot, I'm promised rewards in heaven!

For a person who really has her bearings set on eternity, this seems like a no-brainer. What are you waiting for—hang out that "for sale" sign today! But for the rest of us who firmly have at least one foot planted on earth, we can find all kinds of reasons why that is just not feasible. "I've got kids!" "I have a job that requires x, y and z electronic toys and fast cars!" "I'm using my computer for God's glory!" Yep, there are all kinds of reasons why we can't sell it all and follow Jesus… and He's heard them all! "I have to bury my father;" "I just bought some new livestock;" and even "I just got married!" There are lots of good reasons why we can't do what Jesus is asking us to do. Spend a minute now and think of your own! Or, in other words, make a list of the things you have not yet trusted to God and the things you would not sacrifice for your faith.

Don’t get mad at me; I’m just blogging, which almost literally means talking to myself in cyberspace. This message is for me too! I have so much crap (a spiritually technical term for my earthly possessions), that I hold on to for nonsense sake. Lord, help me let go.

Let’s be real. I don’t have (and probably you don’t either) the kind of spiritual maturity needed to sell it all and live on daily bread. So what to do! Just ignore that scripture about being well fed, like the entire nation of the United States of America is doing? After all, it’s not like if I eat any less, there will be more food for people in Africa. If I drop down from a half-pound of protein a day to a quarter-pound, will the difference be redirected to the world’s hungry? No. And I can’t send them my leftovers either, so what’s the point? God blessed me and please pass the potatoes! (And meatloaf, green beans, gravy, oh, and give me a roll, would ya? And I can’t wait for dessert! I want to try that layer cake and have a piece of my favorite—pecan pie. Mmm!)

Brother and Sister in Christ, if you contemplate this scripture and receive this message and have gotten just an inkling of the absurdity that is the American diet, in contrast to the malnutrition of the majority of the world, and then do nothing different, you can triple your woe, because for those who know to do right and do it not, it is a sin. Ignore this scripture at your own spiritual risk.

I encourage you to feed on this scripture for one day. Give up food for one day and chew on this text instead. See what God reveals to you. “Oh, I have x, y, or z medical condition, and I can’t fast.” Bologna! (ha! Punny, considering the topic!). You can too fast! Call your doctor and ask if going without food one day will put you in the hospital. I betcha he says it won’t. Do you think God will allow you to die or become deathly ill while in the midst of a spiritual discipline to bring yourself more in line with His will? Oh, you of little faith. Fast, already!

I want you to hear from God on this for yourself, but I will nonetheless let you in on what I got (after three days on liquid only), not so you can shortcut the fast and go with what God gave me, but because I think He wants me to share. And if you do this and you get something different than I got, please, e-mail me or comment to this blog (that would be better, so my mom could see it too, haha) and we’ll spur each other on toward good works in that way.

Here’s my word from God. “Okay, Donna, you lack faith to sell out and follow me, so I will do what I always do and meet you where you are. How about this: You know what you have budgeted for food every month, right?”

“Yes, Lord, $900.” (Family of four with three dogs and includes cleaning supplies, etc.)

“How about you set a goal for yourself to cut the fat out of that budget and give the savings to the poor. Start with 10 percent. Save $90 a month on your food budget and instead of buying clothes with it or sticking in the kids’ college fund, add it to your gifts to me.”

I can do that. I pride myself on being an economizer (emphasis on the MIZER!) and probably just by replacing one meat meal with vegetable protein each week and dropping out some of the fun foods that are bad for my temple anyway, I can save $90 a month. If we eat out one less time a month, we could cut $40 or so and cut our calorie count too.

I could probably save $90 just by using coupons, planning meals better and shopping the sales at various stores, and I should, but that wouldn’t impact my being well fed. I believe one of the spiritual objectives here is to challenge us to do the most good we can with what we’ve got. But there are others. Three I readily see are moderation; “temple management” or good health; and putting food in a proper spiritual perspective (Do not set your heart on what you will eat… Luke 12:29.) I am sure there are others.

Now, what will I do with the extra $90 a month that I have to give to the poor? I’m not sending it to some top-heavy organization that will trickle down a bag of rice to some refugees. I want it to make an impact. That brings me back to the matter of how to really help poor people. So stay tuned… the seasons are changing.

In My Own Best Interest

Do not charge your brother interest, whether on money or food or anything else that may earn interest. Deuteronomy 23:19

Oh to be an only child! Then we’d have no brothers to borrow from us - and if we're not married, we might want to look for a spouse who has a small family too!

It's not that easy to escape the command in this verse when we stop to consider how big our family really is. In Matthew 12, Jesus asks, "Who is my brother?" and then explains that anyone who does the will of the Father is His brother, mother or sister. So if I am Jesus' sister and you're his brother, that makes us brother and sister, right? Whoa! That’s one big family. A person could go broke lending to all of them without earning any interest. Better consider carefully who we lend to, right?

Well, there are some pretty clear instructions on that too: "Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you" Matthew 5:42. In a word: Anyone! Hold on, because it gets deeper. Jesus goes on to say that not only are we to loan to anyone who asks of us, but that if anyone takes what belongs to us, we're not to demand it back (Luke 6:30) and that we’re to lend without expecting to be repaid (Luke 6:35).

Do I have this straight? The Bible commands us to loan to our brothers without interest, loan to anyone who wants to borrow from us and, finally, we're not to expect repayment or demand it back. What's at stake here? If we take these verses literally, we could end up loaning every spare cent we have to our brothers and never earning a penny of interest on it or seeing anything come back to us.

I could just stop right here and let you contemplate that, couldn't I? I need to time to think it over as well. For the person who lives tightly within his or her means, these verses don't so much as prickle – in fact, they may be somewhat liberating: Cool! There’s a Biblical basis for me to borrow money and not pay it back! (We'll tackle that in a later post, but for the quick answer, see Romans 13:7-8.) However, before we determine we don't have anything to lend, we need to examine how we are defining "means." Does "means" include our savings and retirement? Perhaps we think that just because our money is tied up in an IRA, we don't have anything to loan. Is stuffing all our extra income into a sock a legitimate way to get out of having to loan money to those who need it? What's the motive behind that thinking? We may have convinced ourselves that it's prudence - we're planning for our future when we will have outlived our ability to work. Maybe. Examine yourself, however, to see if there might be some other motive that's not so prudent. Greed can make a person stuff their money in a sock drawer too. So can fear - it's a lack of faith and trust in God’s promises to provide for our needs.

Here, friends, is where our faith needs to grow. There is a Biblical basis for saving money for a long winter (Proverbs 13:11 and 10:4,5), but have you ever noticed that there aren't any references to that in the New Testament and that the ones in the Old Testament aren’t exactly hard core? The New Testament takes the principles of money management presented in the Old Testament to a higher imperative. The Old Testament says don't charge your brother interest on a loan and the New Testament ups the ante (if I can apply a poker term to scripture) by commanding that we give to anyone who asks without expecting repayment. (BTW, money management is just one of the very many teachings that the New Testament takes to a higher imperative –see the rest of the Sermon on the Mount for more.)

Greedy buggers that we are, however, we want to conveniently regress to Old Testament imperatives and claim our right to amass wealth for the heck of it - because we like it! Not only that, it makes us feel secure. If I have three months operating reserve in a checking account, I am assured of being at least three months away from the street - from being homeless should disaster strike. If I have half a million dollars saved up by the time I retire, I can be assured that I will have a comfortable retirement and my kids might have an inheritance.

When we put our faith in our three months reserve and our IRA, in effect, we make money a god. The New Testament, out of the mouth of Jesus himself, tells us we should put our faith for financial provision in God. We are not to store up treasure. Countercultural? You bet! Not even Dave Ramsey is advising you throw away your 401K! But I ask you - where is the Biblical basis for a 401K? Someone in Internet land, please answer me that.

Please know I'm not bashing wealth. I not only believe it is possible to be wealthy and a Christian, I actually hope to be wealthy some day! The Bible clearly supports the idea of prosperity. But for what purpose? Seek the scriptures for yourself, but here's the bottom line: "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."

If God has given us much in the way of earthly riches, it's so that we can be generous. We are to let this light shine and produce good deeds to the glory of God (Matt 5:16). Loaning without interest is a good deed. Loaning without expecting repayment is a good deed too.

Contemplate this: Am I saving so much money each month that I don't have anything to loan?

For Further Contemplation
He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. Proverbs 28:8

If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not be like a moneylender; charge him no interest. Exodus 22:25

If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you. Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you. You must not lend him money at interest or sell him food at a profit. Leviticus 25:34-37

You may charge a foreigner interest, but not a brother Israelite, so that the LORD your God may bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess. Deuteronomy 23:20

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Can't Get No Satisfaction

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless. As goods increase, so do those who consume them. And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them? The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-12

And again in the Living Bible

He who loves money shall never have enough. The foolishness of thinking that wealth brings happiness! The more you have, the more you spend, right up to the limits of your income, so what is the advantage of wealth - except perhaps to watch it as it runs through your finger! The man who works hard sleeps well whether he eats little or much, but the rich must worry and suffer insomnia.

Everyone has made a crack about a starving child in Africa as we toss a plate full of food in the garbage, but I wonder, do you ever truly contemplate life in a developing country? I've travelled a lot in Latin America and I was Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador. So whereas I can't speak for those starving African children, I can tell you a thing or two about peasant life in Latin America. Not that I ever was one, but I did live on an average person's wage while I was in the Peace Corps - $120 a month at that time.

When I think of people in Latin America, I don't think of misery and poverty. Yes, there is poverty of a kind we know nothing about in the United States. There are entire towns that don't have electricity in Latin America. Many still do their laundry in the river, the vast majority of people don't own a care and even if they have a car, the roads are terrible! The countries are incredibly poor in infrastructure and the people live on next to nothing. In July 2009, I took a mission trip to Peru to help build a missions school. We worked beside Peruvian hired laborers who were earning $10 a day - a typical construction worker's wage. In the United States, a construction worker wouldn't be satisfied with that as compensation for an hour's work! And these laborers were not properly outfitted either. They had no gloves and they wore flip-flops. They asked if we would buy them some rubber boots (about $4 a pair) for while they were working with cement. Our heavy equipment was a wheelbarrow and we did everything by hand (without electricity!).

Poverty, yes, but misery? Far from it. It seems that humans are a pretty adaptable species! And just as Americans have become accustomed to electricity and running water in climate-controlled dwellings, Peruvians are used to working without gloves, walking long distances with bundles of alfalfa on their backs and showering just every so often and usually in cold water. Sounds awful, but I can tell you with certainty that there are a good many happy people who live in that kind of poverty. Want to give it a try? You can get used to it, I promise!

The problem is that once we've become accustomed to a certain level of comfort, it's hard to give up those comforts. This human adaptability thing works best if it is put into play in childhood. It's sort of a one-way process - once we've adapted to a certain comfort, there's no u-turning. If you understand this to be true, you can see why is it vital in my life and yours to stop ourselves where we are right now, at our present comfort level.

What? I can't get any more comfortable than I am now? Why not?

Let's take this to its logical conclusion... decadence. (OK, that was easy.) As we climb the financial ladder, paying off those student loans, getting better paying jobs, even getting the kids out of college, and our income-to-expense margin widens, what will happen to that extra income? Some people have that extra income spent 20 years in advance: I'm going to travel; I'm going to buy that dream car; I'm going to move into a larger home; I'm going to buy an emerald ring… If our plans for that extra income include increasing our standard of living in some way, we are moving ahead in that one-way process, and there's no turning back, which means we will now have to sustain that improvement in our life. And if at our next raise or cash windfall, we better ourselves again, we've moved a little farther. If our capacity to better ourselves never decreases, we end up in the lap of luxury - decadence. (Hey, that doesn't sound too bad!)

What if that capacity doesn't increase? Well, then we're stuck at the point to wherever we last progressed, and if you're an American who owns a home and a car, that's not a bad spot to be stuck in. But what happens if our capacity to better ourselves not only doesn't increase, it doesn't even keep pace with the level of luxury we're accustomed to? That's when we start doing desperate things like using charge cards. And financially speaking, that's skating on thin ice. Some people do it and never fall through, for others, charge cards are the end of their good credit and peace of mind.

Do you know what's so hard about putting a halt to progression to seek more and more comfort? It's the fact that the Jones are more comfortable than we are. If we lived in a communist country where we were all dirt poor, it wouldn't be so hard to be happy with status quo. Or if we lived in a country like Peru where poverty is so wide-spread it's normal, we'd be in good company as we sat at night in conversation around one generator-powered bare light bulb. But here, in the Unites States, a very large contingent is wealthy, or at least displays a façade of wealth, and they are very well publicized, and it leaves the rest of us wanting what they have.

Friend, look closely at what the Bible says those who love wealth have: never enough and no satisfaction. How would you like that in your fortune cookie: You will never be satisfied. (Waiter, can I have another cookie?)

I think the laborer to which Solomon contrasts the wealthy is iconic of the salt-of-the-earth factory worker, construction worker, school teacher, secretary and any other number of people who, despite the consumer-is-king culture in which we live, have managed to be content in their jobs, content in living in that same home for thirty years, content driving that Honda Civic until the engine drops out of it, content with double-knit polyester, elastic-waist pants that were purchased in 1980something and still look pristine (because that's just the way polyester rolls), content to eat a bowl of shredded wheat morning after morning, content to push-mow the lawn and conversely unshaken by the neighbor who's adding a deck with hot tub, dining on Don Schwann, dawning this year's Dockers, before he pulls out in his hybrid Accord, to head off to his new management position, which helped him afford the house next door.

We don't have to shop second-hand stores for a pair of stretch-waist pants to be more like the laborer. Wherever we are today, we can begin to be more like the laborer by just being content.What if it were God's will for me to never advance from my current station in life? Could I be happy with that? To be able to answer "yes" reflects a correct attitude toward wealth, a gratitude for what we do have (which if we're American or European, is a heck of a lot) and an ability to be content, like Paul, whatever the circumstances (Phil 4:11). This is a great skill to master and it has a pretty nice payoff too - sweet sleep.

Contemplate this: Can I learn to be happy with my current means?