An undeniable reality of our current age is that there is real distress about how tomorrow will turn out. We worry about how we're going to manage rising prices, lower salaries, buying Christmas presents, paying for new clothes, affording the car, saving for college, and putting aside a little bit for retirement.
Noticeably missing from this list is any mention of charity.
Now...I did just make up this list...so it is possible that the vice is merely my own. However, I'd venture to guess that most institutions that draw their primary support from the gifts of their community are hurting, and/or worrying about how they will survive in the midst of economic down-turn.
It can sound ridiculous to suggest that hardship is really a blessing, yet the Christian world has, since the beginning, argued this very thing. Which, of course, begs the question...Why should we relish the lean times? Why welcome periods of trials and tribulations? It cannot be a good thing to see others suffer...nor should we take joy in the downfall of our friends and neighbors.
Yet it can seem that hard times are the only times that show us the things that really matter...or, for that matter, the times when we see most clearly what we value and what sort of people we really are.
Which is why this season of tightened belts can be a good thing. It can remind us of those needs which are greater than our own; it can draw us out of ourselves and reach out to our community to show the kind of love and hope that attends the promise of Christmas.
Watch It's a Wonderful Life and think about what kind of a community we might have if we all strove to uphold one another in the midst of potential disaster.
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