Living like Birds

This is kind of amazing!  I stumbled onto this thought as I was preparing my message for Sunday.  The thought: Living like Birds.  I am talking about how, when we become Christians everything about us should change, including our minds.  Romans 12:2 says "to be transfromed in the renewing of your mind,....no longer be conformed to the patterns of this world."  We tend to think of this only in terms of spiritual matters such as sinful nature.  But could there be a practical application to this as well?

"Patterns of this world" covers a broad spectrum of things.  Living according to the level of our economy could be one of them.  In our North American economy there is an economic level that everyone generally adheres to.  For many of the middle class that level is to live about 5 to 10% beyond their means (my guess in terms of percentage).  We are sucked in by a psuedo-reality credit rating that keep us credit poor for most of our (if not all of our) adult lives.

So, our days are filled with financial stresses; and financial stresses become the catalyst for many other stresses - stresses upon stresses, upon stresses.  I was told recently by a foodbank volunteer that the latest statistics show that more and more middle-class families with both parents working fulltime are occasionally using the foodbank services to tie them over from one month to the next.  Poverty is stretching from the ground level, up.

Here is a radical solution!  Jesus implies that we should "live like birds."  Change the way you think about the way you economically live.  The most obvious question is: How do birds live?  Jesus said, "They neither reap nor sow."  In other words, they don't stress and labour over their provisions for survival.  God supplies their needs.

The message that came clear to me is that if we want to relieve some of the stresses of our lives we should become more realistic about our debt loads.  If you can't pay the bills then cut back on the luxuries.  My wife and I are in the process of doing that right now - and believe me most of us have many luxuries compared to how people live in other parts of the world.

Another thought that came out of this process of thinking is that God has equal concern for every human being on earth.  While we stress out about paying our cable and cell phone bills, people in Somalia are worried if this will be the day their 3 year old child dies from malnutrition.  I'm assuming that God looks down upon the economical goings-on in the world and sees a great imbalance in its pattern.  If we all live like birds then no one would go without; everyone's needs would be taken care of.

"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality.  At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.  Then there will be equality.  (2 Corinthians 8:13-14)

Just some thoughts for today.

Blessings,

-Leo