hi all,
i had an intriguing/challenging conversation this weekend with Glasses Off (www.glassesoff.org) a religious liberty blogger. it brought into question my own ideas about simplicity, beauty, and celebrating the both of them at once. i would be interested in your thoughts -- as, i'm assuming, many of us here in DC ponder these issues. here is most of the resultant post from my blog:
... over our wedding shower tea & scones, ms. glasses & i discussed her penchants for freedom of worship and luxe design, as well as a reader’s rant regarding one of her fashion posts. the reader’s contention: no one who trumpets justice for the poor should buy prada shoes, even if they’re 3 seasons old and purchased on the mega-sale rack.
it was a good issue to ponder together, and it was especially germane because the bride-of-the-hour was a woman whom both ms. glasses and i marvel over, thanks to her ability not to let the transient/low-wage twenties keep her from collecting a few exquisite shoes, perfumes, and paintings (and not much else). in other words, the bride eschews target binges and, instead, awaits with baited breath the marc jacobs samples sale.
i’ll be honest: the bride’s shopping philosophy has sometimes left me a little befuddled — who needs a cashmere sweater when kmart’s cotton/paper-towel blend cardigan can keep you cozy?! i’m not too proud to endure a little chafing, if it’s all in the name of cheapskatery, which, as i’ve mentioned before, is pretty much in my top 10 family values. but the beauty of the bride’s philosophy has dawned on me once or twice — especially in those moments when i’ve had to borrow one of her soft sweaters and, as i toss it over my shoulders, my whole body says: ahhhhh.
ultimately, ms. glasses & i came around to pondering: what is simplicity? what is beauty? what are the most conscientious, green, and/or obedient choices when it comes to stewardship of resources? and how can a cheap person avoid smug self-righteousness and a bitter inability to celebrate beauty, and a person who loves finery keep from finery lust?
ms. glasses and i agreed that one of the most important things for cheapskates and finery-lovers alike is to temper consumption with giving. our conversation reminded me that tithing has been one of the most challenging and significant spiritual commitments of my adult life: taking 10% off the top of every paycheck is a great way to be utterly humbled before God. tithing is also a good reminder that every job is a gift and that i am always able to financially support ministries of mercy, even when i’m making $15K a year. and it may sound strange, but tithing has struck me as a discipline whose bodily impact is as powerful as that of chastity. perhaps that’s why these disciplines are two of the most difficult ones to undertake...
looking forward to your thoughts!
be well,
laura
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3 comments:
I've been thinking about your blog post since yesterday Laura. How do we invest in beauty and value simplicity at the same time? Both are worthy pursuits, yet are they mutually exclusive? My typical response to this dilemma has been to aim for "elegant simplicity"... but often even that can be very expensive, which makes me wonder if it is actually simplicity. So a few thoughts that are floating in my mind.
I've been spending a lot of time in Proverbs this year, hoping to learn more about wisdom. One of the things that has struck me about Proverbs is that it details all these little principles by which the world works, but then exceptions creep up. It's like the wise old sage is saying, "You must realize that there are patterns to how the world works, but if you think you know everything about that pattern, you're a fool." (I thank Tim Keller from Redeemer in NYC for helping me to recognize this point). It strikes me that beauty and simplicity are good principles to follow, but they do sometimes contradict one another -- exceptions creep in. That is the tension in which we live -- and it is a good tension, because it requires us to constantly seek wisdom. We must ask ourselves and God in every situation, what is the best course of action? Shall I give away my coat to one in need or shall I buy a beautiful coat so that I can be as beautiful as God made me to be?
We of course all know people who take the pursuit of beauty to extremes -- all their time, money, and energy go toward making themselves look better, and in the end they have a beautiful outside but not much to offer on the inside. That's not what we want. But then, I've also met one or two who give and give away so much of their time, money, and energy that they end up exhausted, spent, and sickly. I wonder if perhaps that kind of person is loving others at the expense of loving themselves. It seems to me that something is wrong there -- the Great Commandment tells us to love others as we love ourselves. So where is the in-between of those two extremes? There is where wisdom in day-by-day choices is so crucial. I don't think there is a single answer to this dilemma ... I do agree that generosity is part of it, but I don't think that fully solves everything.
There's a poem by a Persian Muslim sheik named Saadi who lived in the 13th century that I think speaks to some of this. It's a poem about prioritizing beauty even in the midst of poverty. Here it is:
If of thy mortal good thou art bereft/ And of thy slender store two loaves alone to thee are left/ Sell one, and with the dole/ Buy hyacinths to feed thy soul.
I like that poem because it challenges my ideas about what is good and right to do in the midst of want. One might say, "If you have 2 loaves of bread, give one away to another who is more needy than you." But the poet is not saying that. He is encouraging us to pursue beauty (hyacinths!) even if we think we cannot afford it.
You could argue that it isn't wise to take advise from a Muslim poet. Perhaps. But then I love how Jesus responds in the story of the woman who annoints his feet with costly perfume. The men at the table thought she should have sold the perfume and given the money to the poor. Jesus said, "Let her alone ... she has performed a good service for me."
That story reminds me that ultimately my generosity, while good and important, is not needed AND my desire for beauty should not rest in the beautiful shoes, the soft sweater, or the lovely painting. I don't think this means we should not give to the poor, and I don't think it means we shouldn't appreciate (and even buy) exquisite shoes, soft sweaters, and beautiful paintings. Instead, it's just a good reminder to me that what my heart is really after cannot be earned or purchased. It makes me look at beautiful things less as an end in and of themselves, and more as a means to the greater end of delighting in a High Beauty that lasts forever. I say that easily ... living it is much harder.
I loved the insight that tithing can have as much of a bodily impact as chastity. It doesn't sound like it perhaps, until one trys, and particularly when one trys when money is thin. One of the reasons Jesus talked so much about money/material possession is the power and subtlety with which it becomes the place of our confidence and security.
Just a minor note, though one worth making...in my reading of the NT, the notion of tithing is radically ramped up to sacrificial giving. Not much talk of tithing for the Christian in the NT, but a LOT of talk about generosity and sacrifice.
Um, two things on the above post...
that was me (Bill) and
recently I learned how to spell 'tries'! Third time's a charm.
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