Lately we’ve been watching some old episodes of the
Dragon’s den. It’s a TV show where an entrepreneur tries to pitch his product
to some human dragons in the hope that they will support the product with $$$. Usually the dragons want a bigger share of
the company for less money. They are not easily convinced to part with their
money. This show is a picture of the world we live in. The key word
is” more”
·
More Money
·
More eating, fast foods preferably
·
More texting, & tweeting,
·
More working, multi tasking
·
More consuming, big box stores
Are we as
Christians different or are we part of this rat-race? Listening to Walter
Brueggeman giving 6 lectures about “the other way”
Dr. Brueggeman
calls it our Baptismal Identity. He looks at Daniel (from the Lion’s den) and how
he decided to be different, Daniel1:8. But Daniel
resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the
chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. From the book of Daniel we can learn some strategies
for living the other way.
How do we live the other way?
·
Try fasting (from electronics) 1 day a week
·
No production
(work) or consumption (buying) one day a week
·
No sports one day a week
·
Eat healthy
Choose some or all, try it out and see if you have more
energy. It is biblical to keep the
Sabbath, we need more energy to be able to give; Mercy, Justice, Generosity
...Forgiveness. Living the other way is not easy, but worth it.
Have a break from the rat-race and instead practice
your “baptismal identity”.
Honestly, this is hard, I try not to start up the
computer on Sundays, but I do own a smart phone, so it is so easy to cheat.
Suppose we would be more generous and forgiving. I wonder... would it make a difference for our neighbours?
Suppose we would be more generous and forgiving. I wonder... would it make a difference for our neighbours?
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