...until it all tumbles down.
It's hard -- especially now, in my role as "Sampa" -- for me to pass up blocks without stacking them. Ever since I can remember, I have had this urge to see just how many I can stack up before they come falling down. I grew up with this ornery sister that, I'm sure, took every opportunity to knock them down for me. I don't need her help now -- I live in an earthquake zone!
Anyway, it's easy for me to keep wanting to add just one more block. As an adult, I have found it tempting to keep adding one more toy to my collection. That's why I identified greed as my problem yesterday.
But I wanted to know what you think and I wasn't surprised that a) most people responding were female and b) you almost universally said that fear/worry/insecurity is what you struggle with. What I discovered Monday in our Small Group was that every female present struggles with insecurity and every male present struggles with greed.
I wonder what we should be learning in this season of history. We in the "first world" had been through a time of unprecedented prosperity. We have responded like the man in Jesus' Luke 12 story: "I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones." Or, "I'll build a taller building." Or a more elaborate theme park. Or a nicer house. Or a bigger SUV.
"I'll add one more block to the stack."
However, forces more powerful than our stack have knocked it down. Suddenly, our lust for more has been replaced by fear.
Please avoid diatribes about the government, Wall Street, the automakers, the banks or anyone else you find easy to blame.
What are you learning from this?
3 comments:
I've learnt that no, really, I don't care about money. As long as I have enough to live, then I'm not a 'driven' person to try and get to the top of some imaginary tree. This has been quite a revelation because when you're academically bright, everyone assumes you must be massively ambitious. But quality of life is just soooo much more important, and I can fill my life with quality without spending money on it.
I'm one woman that fights with greed, not worry. I do fine with what I have until "better" is in my face... I always regret "adding that last block". You'd think a person would learn after a while!
I'm not really one to add blocks in regards to things. I'm not trying to get a better car or bigger house. I don't shop for new clothes or shoes until really needed. I like tachnology but am perfectly happy with things the way they are (easy for me to say since I have a husband who is all about the newest technology and loves learning about it and applying it).
My blocks... time. I want to cram more and more into the time I have. And it almost always boils down to my family. We get booked up with all these fun activities and keep this whirlwind pace- until I realize it is too much and we stop and slow down. We do speed up again- but I am continually working to keep things from spinning out of control.
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