April 25th
The “Antiques Roadshow” is always full of great surprises. Folks bring in items large and small, having no idea what they are or what they’re worth, and we the viewers get to learn along with them whether the thing they are curious about is a diamond or a dud.
One item in particular struck my attention. It was a “swift”, a device knitters use to wind their wool into a ball. This particular specimen was made of whale ivory and exotic woods and was over a hundred years old. Because of its fine condition, excellent construction and great desirability it ended up being valued at over $16,000. That’s Sixteen Thousand Dollars, the price of a small car! I was stunned that a thing about the size of a toaster oven (or microwave, for you high tech folks) could cost that much, but there you have it. All that money for an antique tool whose very value rendered it nothing more than a delicate decoration.
For some reason that item stuck in my mind. I just couldn’t forget about it. Somehow it just seemed so, well, wrong. Then, the other day, a colleague in ministry described how she was doing Mission work in Africa. Somewhere in the discussion she mentioned that for $300, (Three hundred Dollars, the price of a cheap set of tires) an African woman could get a new loom. Not a toy loom, or an antique loom or a display model, but an actual working loom with which she could start a small business for herself. Just $300. Less than a week’s groceries, and miles less than the cost of that collectible swift from the “Antiques Roadshow”
Unfortunately, that disparity is a part of life. We value baubles while others want for the basic necessities of life. What one person might spend on an antique swift could provide many women with machines that could help them provide them with meaningful, satisfying work. We are rich beyond our wildest imagination in the Western world, and hardly recognize the great need elsewhere on our planet.
This great disparity in wealth speaks perhaps to a want in our spiritual lives. We value objects rather than ourselves. We derive pride from what we own rather than who we are. We accumulate things to compensate for an emptiness within ourselves. It is not a pleasant reality, but it must be spoken every once in a while.
When God created the world it was perfect, even with we human beings in it. Somewhere along the line, however, we lost sight of the fact that God will provide all that we need. Somewhere we lost sight of the fact that how and who we love is far more important that what we love. Somehow we lost sight of the fact that nothing can satisfy us more than a good relationship with God. If we have that, the effects spill over into our relationship with others, providing us with all the fulfillment we need. In turn God will provide for us not only spiritually but physically. All it takes is putting our hearts in the right place. Nothing could be more satisfying or more valuable than to love your God, and your neighbour as yourself. At least that’s the way I see it.
One item in particular struck my attention. It was a “swift”, a device knitters use to wind their wool into a ball. This particular specimen was made of whale ivory and exotic woods and was over a hundred years old. Because of its fine condition, excellent construction and great desirability it ended up being valued at over $16,000. That’s Sixteen Thousand Dollars, the price of a small car! I was stunned that a thing about the size of a toaster oven (or microwave, for you high tech folks) could cost that much, but there you have it. All that money for an antique tool whose very value rendered it nothing more than a delicate decoration.
For some reason that item stuck in my mind. I just couldn’t forget about it. Somehow it just seemed so, well, wrong. Then, the other day, a colleague in ministry described how she was doing Mission work in Africa. Somewhere in the discussion she mentioned that for $300, (Three hundred Dollars, the price of a cheap set of tires) an African woman could get a new loom. Not a toy loom, or an antique loom or a display model, but an actual working loom with which she could start a small business for herself. Just $300. Less than a week’s groceries, and miles less than the cost of that collectible swift from the “Antiques Roadshow”
Unfortunately, that disparity is a part of life. We value baubles while others want for the basic necessities of life. What one person might spend on an antique swift could provide many women with machines that could help them provide them with meaningful, satisfying work. We are rich beyond our wildest imagination in the Western world, and hardly recognize the great need elsewhere on our planet.
This great disparity in wealth speaks perhaps to a want in our spiritual lives. We value objects rather than ourselves. We derive pride from what we own rather than who we are. We accumulate things to compensate for an emptiness within ourselves. It is not a pleasant reality, but it must be spoken every once in a while.
When God created the world it was perfect, even with we human beings in it. Somewhere along the line, however, we lost sight of the fact that God will provide all that we need. Somewhere we lost sight of the fact that how and who we love is far more important that what we love. Somehow we lost sight of the fact that nothing can satisfy us more than a good relationship with God. If we have that, the effects spill over into our relationship with others, providing us with all the fulfillment we need. In turn God will provide for us not only spiritually but physically. All it takes is putting our hearts in the right place. Nothing could be more satisfying or more valuable than to love your God, and your neighbour as yourself. At least that’s the way I see it.
