Your money or your life #2: What money represents

Our dining area: nothing new in
this repurposed space, but it
represents a different direction for us

Last time, I wrote about "Whose money is it, anyway?" This time, I'm asking,

• What does money represent? 

We gain a token of tangible value (money) in exchange for life, for hours spent working or services given. 

We never get those hours back. They've been traded for ----- well, for what? At the cost of our life-hours, we acquire shelter (rent/mortgage), food, the lust of our eyes ("wants" encouraged by advertising), and our appetites (including recreational pleasures like hobbies, sports, concerts, restaurant, excursions, and vacations).

Money itself has no real value. It is paper, ink, and coins that gather dirty fingerprints along their journey. It may be only a flash on the computer screen in an electronic transfer. However, it represents our earnings as a medium of exchange, our life swapped for stuff, goods traded for services, and a means to an end.

The Russian samovar, ready to be
rehomed. Bamboo floor samples
found in a box = a temporary counter

A few years ago I read Your Money or Your Life by Robin and Dominguez. Their premise was we barter our energy, hours, relationships, and personhood for stuff and experiences. The authors presented this stunning option: Before buying something, consider how many hours of your life you are willing to give up for it.

That revolutionized my spending. Was that bowl worth a half-hour of my life? Was the haircut and color worth three hours of my week (plus an afternoon in the hairdresser chair)? Was the meal out worth an hour of my husband's life? Sometimes the answer was yes. Many times I've forgotten to ask those questions and frittered away my time and energy. But that philosophy of money-for-life filters most major purchases.

Granddaughter K having tea
in the new space: she's worth
an investment in the future

No wonder Jesus talked so much about money. He said where our treasure is, our heart would be also. Is my treasure here? Or in heaven? As I've sold off and given away over half of our household in the last months, I marvel at what is left. We still seem have too much to dust, vacuum, and store.

What did you purchase last week (or month)? Were the hours of your life worth investing in these things? Did what you acquired - in goods, services, or relationships - provide the soul-satisfaction and meaning you expected? Did they make the world a better place for others? Did they spread the Good News of God-with-us? Why or why not?

What does your money represent? The way you spend or save your money reflects how you are investing your life - in transient or eternal ways. Think about it!

Read more:
*Do not plan harm against your neighbor who lives trustingly beside you. Proverbs 3:29 NEV

*For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 NEV

*Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant. 1 Corinthians 13:4 NEV

*“Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Corinthians15:55-58 NIV

Moravian Prayer: Passionate Lord, help us to live planting and sowing love. Do not harden our hearts but rather make them tender so we can live in peace and harmony with our neighbors and friends. Amen.

What's our mission?

I shared this with a class at NU in 2006, while I was alumni director. Seems apt for what we're going to do in the future. It also might encourage those still considering their own place in this world.

My Russian samovar is for sale.
There's Indonesia tea in our future

Our mission is to participate in God's kingdom. NU Alumni serve around the world. We're role models as companions, friends, spouses, parents, teachers, lawyers, doctors and nurses, ministers and social workers, or other employees. This is what I learned from watching and listening to our alumni:

1. When the gate creaks open, follow and see where it leads. God's work is here AND there. We have to begin where we are. We nurture our spiritual life to become Christlike. Genuine expressions traits of goodness, kindness, patience, love, joy, and peace may win us friends and influence. Being egotistical and self-focused will close doors against us. Wherever we go, we must be prepared to become part of the culture.
• Jeremy and Carissa (2000s) live in SE Asia. Jeremy grew up there and knew what to expect. However, Carissa has made adjustments to the frenetic pace where they live, raising young children and working long hours.
• Gary and Priscilla worked as teachers in a sensitive country. They became NU scholarship donors to pass along the legacy of their family (P's Dad was an alum). In this way, they invested in students here as well as abroad.
2. Don't wait for some grand mission. Start here and now. Get training and find a job: we become useful and experienced by engaging life. Though W and I felt called as children to spend ourselves overseas, working hard in Seattle has given us access and relationships across the globe.



Every culture is full of beauty
and lovely traditions

• "Bones" ('70s) does relief work in S Asia. He was on the spot for efforts after the great tsunami. He loves sports so he trains young people, giving him a heart for their parents as well. 
• Nancy ('80s) has been an AIDs worker in Africa and eastern Europe. She's had challenges like typhoid and malaria, and was flown to Paris for appendix removal and other surgery. She continues to teach, train, and develop material to educate against this horrible plague. She's relocated recently and is learning a difficult language to make the transition possible.
3. Look at jobs, experiences, and hardships as opportunities to understand the world and interact with people. Everyone wants to be loved and welcomed - and most people want to be served.
• Rick and Audrey founded a foundation that rescues Kenyan kids from street life. They support national efforts by raising funds from the USA. They've demonstrated their real love for those they serve by adopting two children after their own were grown and gone.
• Greg and Kim ('90s) run homes in India and other countries. They have planted churches and taken care of many children.
4. Don't be afraid of hard work! Working builds character. I read a study that an embassy had 4000 applicants for 4 positions. In the end, they chose people with integrity and work skills to fill those posts. Would they choose us?
• Mark ('90s) took his family from a comfortable life in Seattle to India and Sri Lanka. They teach in schools and work with organizations against human trafficking.
5. Don't be afraid to be yourself. Each person is uniquely designed; there are places on the planet -- "Kingdom work" -- for which we were wonderfully created.



A river flowing in MT: whether
here or there, life is beautiful

• Debbie ('80s) is an interpreter. Her home base is Seattle and she works around the USA, but she lives in Europe, funding a spiritual community by her work here.
6. Don't be afraid of people! They are not our boss, just our manager. (God is our boss and we are accountable to Him first of all.) It may take courage to do something different.
• Everett and Evelyn ('63) have no home. "We're homeless by choice," they told me. They live out of suitcases, traveling widely because they are unencumbered. In 2005-6, they taught at schools and conferences and mentored young people in Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, Siberia, Africa, and Romania. Now past retirement age, their efforts continue unabated.
7. And finally, don't be afraid of God! Life will be an adventure, custom-fitted to our bent. God won't give us more challenges than abilities or resources, provided we depend on Him. He promises never to abandon us no matter how difficult the journey or complicated the process of sharing Good News.
• Where does your name belong on this list? Have you been places you'd never dreamed of? Or stayed closer to home? How have you lived an extraordinary life, whether your surroundings were ordinary or exceptional?
• If we're following where God calls our heart, we join Him on the mission! He's taking care of us day by day.