BELONGINGS

Possessions.

Properties.

Things.

Stuffs.

Effects.

Paraphernalia.

By about any name, people protect, accumulate, gather, pile, clutch, grasp, drop, trade, discard their "belongings."  

We all do it in our own ways, subject to the norms and necessities of status, class, opportunities and options.  

Rich people usually take great care to secure their stuff.  Most all of their effects rest in safe surroundings.   Banks, funds, accounts, cards, wallets and any number of other secure stations provide protection for my stuff, my belongings. With little thought of a concept like "privileged" or "entitled," the well off , like me, devise philosophies or ideologies to argue their right to protect what they have  worked so hard to earn.  

Belongings often define where it is that I belong.

Poor people often imitate the rich in their own ways.  Only difference is the secure places often end up being on their persons in all sorts of creative ways.  Like their better off brothers and sisters, the  poor don't mind displaying their good fortune from time to time.  They also turn out to be willing to share, even from their meager holdings, just like the wealthy often share freely when given the facts and some measure of security.  


Belongings often define where it is the poor belong.

Just this morning I observed a dozen very poor people displaying, bragging, sharing, withholding, enjoying, organizing, stacking, dropping their belongings.

Belongings, as  in "belongs to me."  I've got something that I'm trying to manage. . . even though its not much.  It is an important part of who I am.  Body language and attitude declares that this collection of my effects belongs to me.

Later in the day we hosted volunteers from Texas Instruments, people with much more in the way of material belongings.  They brought lots of stuff to share.  Belongings changed hands.  Lives connected.  Stories exchanged, people connected.

All of us have belongings.

All of us seek to belong.  

As different as we appear, we all remain the same, pursuing belonging and packing our belongings.  

While I get all of this, more and more often these days I catch myself wishing for more courage to surrender my stuff, my belongings for the sake of a total redefinition of where people actually find belonging.  

There has to be more.  

I suspect I'll find this "more" in belonging with my friends who know poverty like a well-worn blanket carried about from place to place in search of what I need to learn to give up.  

Strange prayer requests?

To 21st century ears and sensibilities the words of this ancient prayer pull us up short.  The expressed desires of the unknown author startle us with a radical, counter cultural value set.  Possibly we've never needed to hear words like these as badly as we need to hear them today.  

Two things I ask of you, O Lord;

do not refuse me before I die:

Keep falsehood and lies far from me;

give me neither poverty nor riches,

but give me only my daily bread.

Otherwise, I may have too much

and disown you and say "Who is the Lord?"

Or I may become poor and steal,

and so dishonor the name of

my God.  (Proverbs 30:7-9 NIV)

The words of the prayer originate from Agur, the son of Jakeh, about either of whom we know nothing beyond these words. 

Fairly amazing words, don't you think, especially when laid alongside the values, goals and aspirations of most of us. 

Everything about our culture, economy, education system and passions lead us in a completely different direction, often in exactly the opposite direction. 

I mean think about it. 

Do we long only for truth?  Do I guard my heart, mind and life from falsehood of every sort?  Or, do I embrace the latest "lie of the day" that often streams at me from a variety of media with the intensity of an open fire hose?  In a world of wild, maddening abundance of information, do I pursue the truth with unrelenting dedication, no matter how demanding, confusing or tiring?  Most important, does my spiritual life train my heart on such a quest?  Or, do I settle for something short of truth, something more akin to lies and falsehood? 

More personally, am I open, even eager to face the truth about myself? 

Ouch!

Can I be satisfied with "only my daily bread"?  Are my prayers filled with desires for life's very basic, even simple places and experiences?  "Just my daily bread, Lord, just my daily bread!"

Do I understand the danger of wealth?  Am I honest enough to admit and know well in advance of shifting fortune, that wealth possess the power to swamp my spiritual life completely?  Do I accept the fact that wealth often fills me with a very false sense of self-assured arrogance.  If my net worth puts me in charge of life, what's the notion of God about anyway? 

Can I identify at all with real poverty?  What would I do if my finances turned down so that I took my place alongside my buddies who live out on the mean streets?  Would my hunger and general despair drive me to steal in order to survive?  I know myself well enough to confess that in such an extremity I'm sure I'd be capable of acts and decisions that clearly would be dishonorable. 

The prayer of Agur elevates the basic, the simple, the middle ground.  The prayer links truth in life with a refreshing simplicity of values. 

In a world dominated by materialism and consumption, Agur hands me a prayer I need to learn to pray.  

Misplaced love

A Sunday meditation:

"We brought nothing into the world; for that matter we cannot take anything with us when we leave, but if we have food and covering we may rest content. Those who want to be rich fall into temptations and snares and many foolish harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and perdition. The love of money is the root of all evil things, and there are some who in reaching for it have wandered from the faith and spiked themselves on many thorny griefs."

Saint Paul
1 Timothy 6:7-10
The New English Bible

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Happy?

Comparative international studies. . . report that once a nation has achieved a moderate level of per capita income, further increases in wealth bring only slight increases in perceived well-being. . . . Beyond the minimum level of income essential to meeting basic needs, the authentic relationships of strong communities are a far better predictor of happiness and emotional health than the size of one's paycheck or bank account. . . . Over the last half of the twentieth century, inflation-adjusted U. S. gross domestic product per capita tripled, yet surveys indicate the self-reports of satisfaction with life have remained virtually flat.

From David Myers, "The Secret to Happiness," http://www.yesmagazine.org/, summer 2004 as quoted in Brian D. McLaren's latest book, Everything Must Change: Jesus, Global Crisis and a Revolution of Hope, pages 210-211.


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Caring for our "home"

Anyone who really cares about people, urban areas and the future needs to read Bill McKibben's essay in the October 2007 edition of National Geographic ("Carbon's New Math," pages 33ff) or go to this link: http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/2007-10/carbon-crisis/carbon-crisis.html.

Lots to think about.

Convicting to me on several levels: my love of fast, muscle-type automobiles (I drive a Hemi!); my gluttony of energy on many other fronts; my thoughtless use of non-biodegradable products; my love of air conditioning to the extreme. . .the list goes on and on.

We are insatiable consumers, as evidenced by another wild and crazy "black Friday" just yesterday. The sales numbers aren't in, but if the video footage is any indicator, Americans continued the grand tradition of spend, consume and waste.

One thing seems certain: we are all connected on this one planet as never before. And, urban dwellers, no matter where, share lots in common.

We all need to go "green."

Maybe a first step is to take the problem and the challenge a bit more seriously than we do at present here in Texas!

Labor and Capital

Labor finds itself on the short end of the American stick these days. Many factors contribute to this hard reality for working people. No society can thrive for long without a high view of the value of labor.

That's why I really like the recent "Walk a Day in My Shoes" campaign initiated by the Services Employees International Union (SEIU). Have you seen reports about this unique effort?

Through “Walk a Day in My Shoes,” SEIU invites presidential candidates to spend a day fully engulfed in the world of a ordinary American worker both at work and at home. It is all about making sure politicians experience the real world of American labor.is like for the rest of us.

In each case the workers expose the politicians to their daily lives and struggles that often make even the most routine tasks difficult. Forced to work second jobs, they have less time to spend with their families. They return home from work and just hours later have to get their kids off to school or day care on time and make it to their next job on time.

The common worries heard during these ventures into national reality include concerns about what happens to their savings (if they have any) if they or their children contract a devastating illness. Workers are anxious about becoming a burden to their kids if they can’t save enough for retirement. Most believe that the future facing their children will be even more challenging than what they have faced and endured.

The union believes that every candidate running for president needs to understand these worries, and feel them. The workers involved and those they represent expect real results on the issues that matter to them—a paycheck that supports a family, affordable health care, a secure retirement and a better life for themselves and their families.

“Walk a Day in My Shoes” is about making sure politicians truly know what the real world is like for millions of American voters. Only candidates who participate will be considered for an endorsement by SEIU.

Senator Barack Obama walked in the shoes of home care worker Pauline Beck on August 8th.

Senator Christopher Dodd walked in the shoes of Head Start teacher Colleen Mehaffey on July 26th.

Governor Bill Richardson walked in the shoes of family services worker Mark Fitzgerald on June 7th.

Senator John Edwards walked in the shoes of nursing home worker Elaine Ellis on April 11th.

Senator Hillary Clinton walked in the shoes of Las Vegas nurse Michelle Estrada yesterday.

Senator Joseph Biden and Gov. Mike Huckabee have accepted SEIU’s challenge and will be walking soon.

I like what one great American President said about the value of labor during his "Annual Message to Congress."

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration." (Abraham Lincoln, December 3, 1861 )

Ordinary workers should be respected, their voices and concerns heard, their needs and their contributions valued.




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Chevy 789: A Confession

I know, I know.

I supposed to be working on my carbon footprint. What with global warming, emissions control, gas prices and lots of other issues to consider.

But--and you gotta hear me here--I love cars!

This is a confession everyone who knows me understands.

For example: Any takers for this Chevy?

Unbelievable!

The company, n2a Motors, is planning a production run of about 100 vehicles.

This baby sits on a Corvette C6 chassis, front styled like a '57 Chevy (classic), side like a '58 (transitional year to the two-headlight look), rear like a '59 (wings and outer space!).

Hence the designation "789".

You can own this two-seater for a cool $135K.

I know, I know.

Poverty, hunger, mounting need around our world. I'm committed, I tell you, I really am. And, just here I am not joking at all. Obviously, I'll never own a vehicle like this one.

So, I suppose this is a confession of my struggle, a plea for intervention, a cry for mercy! God have mercy on my soul!

I love cars and the art they bring to life. I mean, this is a work of beauty. Can't you see it?

I guess I am just incurably materialistic.

Maybe my struggle and my agony have something to do with my birthday being in 1950. What do ya think?

Breaking News from the Buckle of the Bible Belt: Bob Dylan, Gerald Britt and poverty, greed and materialism in Good Old Dallas, Texas

Mark Perrin, a friend, a darned good attorney and a man who cares about justice and poverty in Dallas and the nation, sent me the following note after our annual prayer breakfast and Mayoral Forum yesterday:

Doug and I were touched by our time at the breakfast this morning. Thank you.

Please tell Reverend Britt that, in our opinion, "soulless materialism laced with random acts of charity" is the best and most significant line since Bob Dylan wrote "people don't do what they believe in, they do what's most convenient - then they repent."

Thanks, Mark! And, of course, Gerald's statement, as always, was brilliant and powerful!

We have a lot left to do here in Dallas, don't we?