Maybe John the Baptist Wasn't Concerned for the Poor

I am sitting in my living room with my family.  It is the day after Christmas and there is still plenty of evidence of yesterday’s frivolity.

The boys did quite well in their holiday haul.  My wife utilized Ebay to its fullest to maximize our limited budget and the grandparents delivered like only grandparents can.

Today we sit in the wake with a blessed pile of new stuff.

Curiously the boys have spent much of today complaining, much more complaining than normal.  They are oh so worried about their playing options, game usage, desires to go out and buy more, not to mention endless comparisons of how one boy has received more than another.

The interesting thing about this newfound complaining is that none of these troubling issues existed just 36 hours ago.  None.  Not only are all the diatribes new, they are also expressed with increased fervor.

Is it overly simplistic to say: more options creates more fuss?

Let’s explore this for a moment.  If we were to reduce options to the least complicated scenario, it is amazing how simple life becomes.

Let’s begin with a crude example…  if I am stuck underwater; I would experience three minutes of unequaled clarity.  I am not worried about needing to mow the lawn, pay my bills or even find my next meal.  I have only one simple desire.  I am sure that I would cast forth only one prayer, a plea.  I would beg God, fate and the universe (anyone who would listen) for air, only air.  And ironically this invisible gift that I receive over twenty thousand times a day would suddenly be the world’s greatest treasure. (On a side note, I am going to make it a point to be more thankful for those twenty thousand daily gifts.)

Maybe Jesus could speak so winsomely about the worry-free life (Matt 6:25ff) because he imagined us living an option-limited life: be fed (like a sparrow) be clothed (like a lily.)

I remember years ago visiting a Gypsy family that lived in a one-room house.  The room was only about nine by nine and had no furniture.  There was a hotplate in the corner and a few pillows on the concrete floor.  I spent the day with this lovely couple and their three sweet children.  As we wiled away the day, I looked around the small room and I could audit their every belonging and the total was less than fifty items.  Rarely have I met such a peace-filled family.

Is there a connection between stuff and stress?

Today we have a house and a yard and garage and a garden and… and…  Sometimes I miss the years I spent living out of a backpack.

John the Baptist said to the crowd, “If you have two coats, sell one and give it to the poor” (Luke 3:11.)  I always thought that he said these words because he loved and wanted to protect the poor.  Now I wonder if he said it because he loved and wanted to protect the crowd.  I also wonder if he wanted to protect me.

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