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Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Psalm 127

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The Embarrasment of Riches. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves? Psalm 127:2b (MSG)

I have been reading a weighty book that my wife gave me for my birthday. The Embarrassment of Riches by Simon Schama is a treatise on the Dutch culture. It investigates of how the little nation rose from medeival obscurity into the greatest economic power in the world in only two generations. Schama summarizes his own endeavor by saying that he wanted to find out what made the Dutch so, well, Dutch.

Being born to a Dutch father, I have been raised in what is known as the Dutch work ethic. The Dutch work hard. As I've been reading, our forefathers survived by raising their homeland out of the sea. By the sweat of their brow and the pumping of their windmills they tamed the ocean and made it do their bidding. Then they restlessly scoured the earth on their merchant ships and eventually drove the world's economy. My Dutch forebears brought their Dutch work ethic to America and scraped new life from the wild, untamed American prairie. The Dutch mantra could very well have come from Solomon: "Go to the ant, you sluggard, consider its' ways and be wise." If it's one thing I've been raised to appreciate, it's the value of hard work.

Raised in that obsessive work ethic, rest is easily seen as a vice – not a virtue on equal terms with work. It's easy to look at rest with secret suspicion and scorn. God is, however, adamant about the importance and value of rest. Isn't it interesting that working hard did not make the list of the ten commandments, but resting did?

Chapter-a-Day

Chapter-a-Day Luke 24

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Note to readers: This is an old post from back in 2008 that got lost in my “Drafts” folder and was never published. So, I’m publishing it today. Better late than never. Cheers!

Then he said to them, “So thick-headed! So slow-hearted! Why can’t you simply believe all that the prophets said? Luke 24:25 (TM)

For the past fifteen years I’ve worked with a consulting firm that believes in following Biblical principles. Because of those principles, we never sign long term contracts with any client. One year at a time. That’s it. Towards the end of every year, we begin working on the following year’s contracts. Hopefully, we’ve brought measurable value to our clients and they want us back the next year. But, I don’t know that for sure.

Some members of our consulting group are often anxious this time of year. You can see the wheels spinning behind their eyes. Will I have work next year? Will we have enough renewal business? Will I be able to pay my bills? Should I get my resume together?

As an employer, I can’t give them assurances. I can only encourage them to have faith.

Faith. Simple belief. Being sure of what you hope for. Trusting in what you can’t see. Faith can be scary. Faith involves risk. If you want to be assured of a certain income, then you probably don’t want to work for our group. Of course, if you’re assured a certain income, then you’re probably not going to make any more than you expect, either.

When you operate on faith, the outcome is unlimited. If you simply believe, if you are willing to follow where your faith takes you and do the work required, then there is no limit to how much you might eventually profit.

Faith is requirement for this journey. Following Jesus is, at the core, a faith journey. As Madeleine L’Engle said, “Faith is what makes life bearable, with all its tragedies and ambiguities and sudden, startling joys.”