Heating and Cooling 101

We’re back in faith basic training. Now, just as the first hospital and medical bills begin to roll in, our heating and A/C has gone out.

Paul writes

I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Phil 4:11-13 (NRSV)

I’m struggling to learn how to be content. I’ve never had to go without essentials and many extras.

 The Gk word autarkes means “self contained.” I heard Professor Glenn Hinson, our great saint, give a talk on it once that I’ll never forget. It’s self-sufficient, self-contented, in a very positive way. Paul had learned to be independent of his circumstances.

That famous verse Phil 4.13 really means “I can face all things…” It’s not the “master of my fate” activist self-confidence, so often based on it.

Rather, it means “I can deal with whatever comes; in the strength of Christ, I can handle it.”

So we are learning. And we abide in gratitude because

God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Phil 4:19 (NRSV)

Not a blank check!

I downloaded budgeting software, and I’m learning about HVAC systems and EnergyStar standards.

All the houses in our neighborhood are the same age, so we have good references from neighbors.

Most important, Sandy’s feeling a little more stable these days. As she transfers from the dialysis center to home dialysis, it may still have ups and downs.

But it feels better.

It’s funny, you know, I’ve done so much thinking and reading about the two thirds world, the standard of living abroad.

The dollar figure for the new HVAC system translates into hours Sandy has to work, children that could be fed, pure water needed.

I find myself praying for God’s eyes, God’s wisdom.

We do have to live in North America. The new system will also meet the special requirements of home dialysis, which are stringent.

But it’s so clear to me, that in Africa priorities would be very different.

As I pray to be a world citizen, and to care about all the billions of people affected by our global economy; as I pray for liberation from North American white apartheid outlooks—at the same time, I’m checking out home loan interest rates and repayment schedules.

I wonder what Jesus would do.

Guilt is not an adequate response. It can be nothing more than  a way to assuage the rumblings of conscience without righteous change.

But, as we shelter in the climate of our new system in a few weeks,  I am thankful for God’s infinite bounty, and I  pray that our heart and home will be open to all humankind, at least in spirit, and whenever possible in person.

For now, perhaps, that will be enough.