Let's play the values game...

No, not the one my coach gave me about the 15 top values we all live by (although it's a great exercise to do) But the one that makes you think of the things you value the most.

I'll give you a scenario. Two people have access to one car. One person needs to go visit an elderly friend who is blind and housebound and often lonely. The other needs to go to the stores to return some goods and pick up some others. Who should have priority? The one visiting the elderly, right?

Okay so this particular scenario did occur but with a little more factors affecting it. The one who needs to go to the stores is the owner of the car. The other one is only borrowing it to run errands while the other doesn't need to use it. So the owner should have priority because they are paying the bill. But in the bigger scheme of things the value of the tasks differ greatly. One is self-serving (shopaholic), the other is serving others (pastoral). Unless, of course, you consider the self-serving to be vicariously serving others through the pastoral.

Either way, I'm drawn to consider why it is that in this part of the world (North America and probably Europe too) we spend so much time making money and spending money in the great pursuit of happiness. Does it honestly make us feel happier? From what I've witnessed these past few weeks it does not. I've seen someone spend so much money each day on items in the house and in the garden but at the end of the day the happiness is short-lived. Each day turns into a vicious cycle of momentary peace, then the discovery of something out of place, then the desperate attempt to fix it followed by a massive rearrangement that subsequently becomes another trip to the stores and then more rearranging.

Meanwhile I spent some time visiting with a 93 year old and came away feeling so completely blessed by her company and pleased that I could bring a little light into a person's day.

So it's really simple. What do you value the most - spending money or spending quality time?

I don't deny that spending money isn't fun, and when you're serving people who have money the perks outweigh the bind of the tasks.

But still, in my heart of hearts I am content with less and would far rather spend quality time. And you really don't need money to have a good time!

I yearn for people in this continent to slow down, take time and enjoy life for its simplicities. Reject the control money has over you. It will NEVER satisfy. Stop thinking in terms of progress and change and start thinking in terms of moments, beauty, stillness, and all the things we're often too busy to notice. Turn your back on the temptation to improve and perfect things. Perfection is a state of mind but not necessarily an achievable reality.

If you're a Christian who is ensnared in this crazy paced lifestyle, what are you running from? Why are you striving to fill a gap that can only be filled with your one true Saviour? Let go of the control. Cease striving. God already knows what you need before you even thought of it.

And one for me - stop trying to justify your existence through service. Your existence is for a purpose and that may only be revealed to you in the quiet times and/or desert places.
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