Who Do You/I Trust?

How does my brain settle on certain topics to write about? Without intent I find myself lingering over a sentence in a newspaper or magazine article. Often a familiar Bible verse rings out with new—sometimes glaring—truth. A book title is a microphone demanding attention. 

Recently “Who Do You/I Trust?” popped up. Sermons of late focused on the New Testament book of Hebrews. In a small group we looked more closely at several lives recorded by that writer where the overriding topic is faith: 

Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses (and his parents), Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets, women… Please note that all are flawed—some horribly damaged—human beings yet are described as people of faith.

And then these jarring words:

Without faith it is impossible to please God.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

My parents were first-generation, little schooled, resourceful, hardworking people. Without means outside their own hands, they scrabbled early (my mother from the age of ten) to provide for themselves and their families. Because of that background, they were “conservers.” That’s not actually a word although I found this description helpful: A person…CONSERVE(S) their resources by practicing “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,” which means using less of a product, finding ways to use items multiple times…

After working an eight to ten-hour day in a factory, in spring and summer my dad drove home to plow ten acres, preparing to grow our own vegetables. My mother baked our bread, sewed my clothes, preserved fruits and vegetables, and made tasty, filling, “beefy” soup out of the garden’s produce and one meatless soup bone. Our cupboards were never empty though never filled with the unnecessary.

Back again to the question. How has this dependency on one’s self influenced me? Recently when I heard the weather report that snow was likely to fall that weekend, I made sure to fill my car’s tank with gas, shopped to buy (another) loaf of bread for the freezer, etc. “Just good planning,” you say. (And it did snow.) Yes, I’m a planner, but if you looked in my cupboards and freezer, you would find sufficient food to feed a family of five for a week. Or more if you used my mother’s recipes!

This isn’t a diatribe against consumerism. (That will likely come another day.) Nor do I believe shopping malls should be outlawed. (Although I come close to that extreme.) I thoroughly enjoy the best that a good restaurant offers. (My standards often impossibly high.) But I am forced to face the fact that I too easily fall into the trap of SELF sufficiency. Perhaps you, too, find yourselves on the edge of this slippery slope?

Father God, shine a light of understanding on my choices. Help me be satisfied with less so I can give and be more to those who are forced to always live with less.