We (small group) are nearly done with the book "Freedom of Simplicity" by Richard Foster. I confess never to have been a fan of Foster before this book. Maybe it's because I was never a disciplined reader and perhaps his best known book is called "Celebration of Discipline". In any case, this book has subverted a lot of my thinking on the subject of giving, as I hope previous posts have shown.
On the verge of finishing the book, I have requested that my small group consider praying with me and talking Mark and me through the thought process behind giving up at least some of this refinance money we now have sitting gathering dust (and not much interest) while we consider whether to renovate and if so, to what extent. This kind of prayer and talk is what Foster calls a "meeting for clearness." Now, that terminology may be old school Quaker, but it sure sounds new school freaky, especially given a recent article on Scientology I read in the New Yorker (dying to discuss that, but at another time). But to heck with terminology; the fact is I need to meet with some like-minded people and get some clearness. This is scheduled to happen some time next weekend.
I can't lie. Sometimes I sit in my kitchen and think about how great it would feel to sign a check for the entire amount of our renovation money and send it to an orphanage somewhere. And then I question my motives; am I really doing it because I feel honestly compelled to do it, of my own free will? Do I want to prove to my small group that I'm taking what we're reading seriously? Do I want to earn kudos from non-Christians who wish we'd all just walk the talk or shut up? What about kudos from Christians who will feel guilty/motivated? I don't know. All I know is that I haven't stopped to consider what God wants me to do for very long. I'm driven by something inside me that asks how I could have so much and others so little. And in spite of what we see all around us, that seems an empty question outside of what God has to say about it. Meeting of Clearness, roll on.
In related news, I read this fascinating article on this Hollywood Director, Tom Shadyac. He looks like a cross between Weird Al and Jesus. But also, he's famous for directing some monster-budget pictures quite successfully (The Nutty Professor, Ace Ventura). But he gave all his millions up for the sake of enlightenment. Of course I now can't find that original article, but here's an interview he gave to Esquire that will do the job:
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/qa/tom-shadyac-i-am-012811
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Giving part of your refinance money means that you are basically giving away borrowed money from a bank. Let's say you decide to write a check from your refinance balance of $5,000 to the orphanage. Well if the terms of your loan are 30 years with a let's say a 5% fixed interest, the cost of giving away the $5,000 is $4,662.79 in interest payment. So you would forego about $10,000 but only half of it went to your orphanage; the other half goes for the Bank's bottom line.
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