Living a Wartime Lifestyle

This morning as I was reading "The Dangerous Duty of Delight" by John Piper, I was intrigued by an explanation of how Christians should view money and lifestyle choices.  I figured it was worth sharing.

Life is war.  The casualties are millions, and the stakes are eternal.  What we need today is not a call to simplicity, but a call to war.  We need to think in terms of a "wartime lifestyle" rather than a "simple lifestyle."  I have used the phrase "necessities of life" because Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:8, "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content."  But this idea of simple necessity can be misleading.  I mean it to refer to a style of life that is unencumbered with nonessentials--and the criterion for "essential" should not be primitive simplicity, but wartime effectiveness.
Missionary visionary Ralph Winter illustrates this idea of a wartime lifestyle:

The Queen Mary, lying in repose in the harbor at Long Beach, California, is a fascinating museum of the past.  Used both as a luxury liner in peacetime and a troop transport during the Second World War, its present status as a museum the length of three football fields affords a stunning contrast between the lifestyles appropriate in peace and war.  On one side of a partition you see the dining room reconstructed to depict the peacetime table setting that was appropriate to the wealthy patrons of high culture for whom a dazzling array of knives and forks and spoons held no mysteries.  On the other side of the partition the evidences of wartime austerities are in sharp contrast.  One metal tray with indentations replaces fifteen plates and saucers.  Bunks, not just double but eight tiers high, explain why the peacetime complement of 3000 gave way to 15,000 people on board in wartime.  How repugnant to the peacetime masters this transformation must have been!  To do it took a national emergency, of course.  The survival of a nation depended upon it.  The essence of the Great Commission today is that the survival of many millions of people depends on its fulfillment.

Life is war.  All talk of a Christian's right to live luxuriously "as a child of the King" in this atmosphere sounds hollow--especially since the King Himself stripped for battle.

I've visited the Queen Mary myself, so it is very easy to see the difference that wartime makes.  But what would this look like in my own life now?  What are the nonessentials that might be encumbering me and the Great Commission?  I don't know if there is a straight-forward answer to that, especially since there are so many varying circumstances to consider.  However, I absolutely think its worth thinking about.  If I and all Christians in the U.S. decided to assess our lifestyles and make a few changes, what difference would it make in the world?  How many more would hear the gospel?  How many more would be fed and clothed?

Love this Show!

I'm a total nerd and absolutely love watching documentaries.  I love learning about real people and places through story.  And I'd rather see it than just read about it.  I think that's why I'm so drawn to this genre.  There are so many things in the world that I may never encounter personally, but these are real experiences for many others.  Thankfully, there are people out there whose job it is to tell us all about it.  So, since discovering hulu a couple of years ago, a whole new world of documentaries has opened up to me.  We don't have cable (and didn't even own a tv until this year), so the internet is my only access to shows like Vanguard.  You may recall about a year ago (or something like that) when 2 journalists were captured in North Korea.  They were working for Vanguard.  Anyway...it's not perfect.  You may not agree with everything.  It may be biased...we all are.  If you are going to be a learner of people, you need to know where they are coming from and how they think.  Watch and then think for yourself.  I know I've learned a lot and been entertained.  So now I'm encouraging you to do the same.

Here is one of my favorite episodes to start you off:

Nothing against Disney, but...

there is some sad truth to this.

How rich are you?

My guess is that you're richer than you think. Living in the consumer culture of the US, our view is easily skewed as to what it means to be rich. We've not only blurred the line between need and want...I think we've lost it all together. I can't even count the number of times I've heard the college students I lead, as well as the missionaries I work with (among many others), claim to be poor. I wish I could say that I've never had a similar thought, but my perspective has definitely been challenged and changed over the past several years. Me claiming to be poor is like Einstein claiming to be stupid.  Granted, this website doesn't consider cost of living, but it doesn't take much to realize how much we have in comparison to most.  I have never actually been in need.  I may never be able to afford a house in Southern California, but I can afford rent on a pretty decent apartment.  I can get food...whatever kind I want...whenever I want.  Even if I lost everything I have right now, I have friends and family that I know would take care of me.  I may make below the median US annual income, but I am rich.

See where you rank on the global rich list.

when a simple shower isn't enough

try this

seriously?

So, as mentioned in previous post, I've been frequenting Craigslist. As I've perused, an old childhood lesson has proven it's value.


Good posting: Ugly Sofa

Bad posting: Beautiful Sofa


Honesty IS the best policy.

Musee Mecanique

Good, soothing music

AND

a very interesting place to visit.

If Only...

If I was cool and had money, I'd shop here.

But I'm not, and I don't, so I'm trying to find some useful things here...and having no luck.

Back Again?

not really. i just had to try out a new layout to see if i could make it work before i tried it on my other blog that i use more. but maybe i'll think of something good to say soon. i doubt it, but miracles happen.

more hard-earned lessons

so i finally decided to take advantage of living near the coast and went to the beach with paul for the day on monday. i actually haven't really done this since moving here almost a year ago. not sure why, but whatever. so after spending a few hours of relaxation and fun, we came back home with sand in our shorts and a little bit wiser (hopefully). this is what i learned.

good idea:it's great to have some fun in the sun and surf...throwing around a football or a frisbee and even catching some waves on a boogie board

bad idea:

it's not so great to fall asleep in the sun without a thick, healthy layer of sunscreen

we are paying the price for our lesson learned. i wish i had some after shots, but i never remember to pull out my camera for the important moments. oh well. the pain has moved on to peeling and will hopefully end up in a nice even tan. but it wasn't worth it. sunscreen will be my new best beach buddy. i'm sure paul would agree.