HOW DOES WINNIE THE POOH SAY WE SHOULD TREAT OTHERS?

 

            Continuing with John Wesley’s Manifesto, which talks about the issues that he cared about back in the 18^th century, we come to “end all forms of slavery.” Well, then this should be a short blog, right? We don’t have slavery any more. The 13^th amendment outlawed slavery in America with the words: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”  Is been 156 years since that amendment was ratified, so this is a part of the Manifesto that we can ignore, because it’s already been “solved.” Nope, I don’t think so.

             Matthew 7:12 says: “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” And even Winnie the Pooh is on it.

             John Wesley’s actual words say it like this: “Let none serve you but by his own act and deed, by his own voluntary action. Away with all whips, all chains, all compulsion!... Do with everyone else as you would he should do to you.”

             Wesley’s actual words take “slavery” away from the mindset that says “we’ve outlawed slavery;” “everyone’s treated the same now;” “people have the same rights under the law;” and “let’s ignore this part of the manifesto.”

            I don’t think we can ignore this part of the manifesto. If we look closely at Wesley’s words, it says “by his own act and deed, by his own voluntary action.” If someone has to take a job, grossly underpaid, with no benefits, long hours, bad treatment, etc., how can that be voluntary? Just taking a job simply because that’s all they’re offered, or because they need money just to be able to eat… But bad treatment and low pay means that job is being done under compulsion!

            That brings us right back to what that has to do with each one of us.

·              X If we have the ability to right the wrongs being done to other, shouldn’t we?

·             X  If we can be part of making the change to minimum wage, reasonable working hours, available health care, shouldn’t we?

·             X  If we simply treat the person next to us, the person across the counter, the person handing us our food through the drive-through window, the person opening the door and greeting us at the store, the person that’s in “customer service”, shouldn’t we?

            Shouldn’t we? We MUST! We must end all forms of slavery! It’s Wesley, it’s the Bible AND it’s Winnie the Pooh!

 

BOOK REVIEW

Name of Book:  Enough Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity

Authors:  Adam Hamilton

Abingdon Press, Nashville, TN. 2009. ISBN: 978-1-426-70233-4             

Summary of purpose of book

It was written in 2009, at the time of the 2008 stock market plunge, banking failures, increase in joblessness and economic woes.

I believe it also works well at this time; when economic woes, joblessness, etc. are being felt as a result of the pandemic and closures in 2020.

Adam Hamilton suggests that “joy and contentment is found in simplicity and generosity in faith and in pursing your purpose in life. I’m not advocating that any of live in poverty, but that we cultivate contentment and re-evaluate what constitutes the “good life”.[1]

He goes on to say, and I agree, that money is morally neutral. It can be used for good or evil. It is the love of money that Scripture says is at the root of all kinds of evil.

Hamilton would like us to read the book to see our money and our possessions with new eyes remembering, as Jesus taught, “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Lk 12:15)

Information on Author of Book

Adam Hamilton is pastor of the Church of the Resurrection, a church he formed in 1990 in Kansas. It has approximately 22,000 members and four sanctuaries. In addition to being a United Methodist pastor, he is also a much-requested speaker and writer, having spoken at the Upper New York Conference as well.

Notes from book: 

When Dreams Become Nightmares - We are encouraged by the world to live beyond our means, bigger houses, newer cars, more and more. But the American Dream is often a nightmare. In this chapter, he presents what he believes is the Bible’s solution to this problem of American Dream, credit-it is, affluenza.

Wisdom and Finance - Talks about money wasters and the question “what is your life purpose?” He lists six financial planning principles: (1) pay your tithe and offering first; (2) create a budget and track your expenses; ( 3) simplify your lifestyle; (4) establish an emergency fund; (5) pay off credit cards, use cash and debit cars only, use credit wisely; and (6) practice long-term savings and investing habits

Cultivating Contentment – He lists four keys to cultivating contentment: (1) remember that it could be worse; (2) ask yourself, how long will this make me happy; (3 ) develop a grateful heart; (4) ask yourself, where does my soul find true satisfaction? There are also gives five steps for simplifying our lives.

Defined by Generosity - What is your theology of generosity? What is the theological foundation for generosity? This section talks about generosity, what it means to God and what happens when we are generous.

Epilogue: Overcoming Fear - Fear is built into us as a defense mechanism. The problem is it’s hard to tell if something is a real threat, and we sometimes feel fear when there isn’t a real threat. Hamilton gives three keys to overcoming fear: (1) trust God; (2) offer gratitude; and (3 ) live a life of service and generosity to others.

The last section in the book takes the Scripture, the questions, the concepts that Hamilton spends time with in this book and ends with specific help and lays out the six financial planning steps. He also provides fifteen financial management tips and even a strategy to pay off credit cards.

Personal Opinion

Each chapter ends with some reflection questions and scripture to consider after reading the chapter. These questions are very helpful for the reader to use in dealing with their own understanding of money and debt and generosity. How each of us learned about money; how money was treated when we were a child; also reflects

The financial management assessment tools are very important, but are simplified for the purposes of the book. These tools should be used together with detailed financial management work and working with a financial coach, as needed.

The book reads easily and quickly. It gives good common-sense solutions; and thought-provoking questions that can help someone approaching their money and their finances and their generosity in the way that God intended.

It can be used by one person reading; as a small group study; as part of a financial management process in the local church; and in many different ways.

 

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[1] Pages 6-7

 WHAT’S THE IMPORTANT STUFF?

 

John Wesley’s Manifesto continues with the next item. This one definitely goes against the whole American dream, doesn’t it? Merriam Webster dictionary defines the American dream as “a happy way of living that is thought of by many Americans as something that can be achieved by anyone in the U.S. especially by working hard and becoming successful.” So if we work hard, and work long hours, then we can earn lots of money. When we have lots of money, then we can buy a big house and a couple of cars and go out to eat as often as we want.

 

But the American dream turns into a nightmare for many. Even prior to COVID, people were struggling financially. Adam Hamilton says it this way: “not because they were not making enough money. They were struggling because they were living beyond their means and saving nothing." (Adam Hamilton, Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity)

And now we are in the “new normal”, in the midst of a Pandemic as COVID-19 ravages people’s health, their lives, their families, their communities, their churches, their jobs, the economy and, to be frank, the entire world. It isn’t an attack on the American dream per se, but it does seem to have had a huge impact on the American Dream.

·             How can we work if we can’t leave our house?

·             How can we find a job if businesses are closing?

·             How can I be sure that if I go to church, or I go to the store, or I… that I won’t get sick?

·             So many people that are sick die

·             People that get sick and recover continue to suffer health problems.

It's a scary time. Is this the time to look at our lives and our dreams and our society and wonder if basing everything on money and profit and consumerism isn’t working? Maybe it’s time to take a different perspective.

We have to redefine their relationship with money and think biblically and carefully to discover what our lives are really all about. We have to experience the life God wants us to live and have the kind of relationship with money that God wanted us to have. It’s hard, because we can no longer see the difference between our wants and our needs. We LIKE immediate gratification.

Dave Ramsey is credited for saying: “We buy things we don’t even need with money we don’t even have, to impress people we don’t even know.”

 I’ve heard that expanded to impress people we don’t even like! So we have all these big houses and cars and lots and lots of stuff, and then we have to rent storage units because we have too much stuff! Does that make sense?

George Carlin talked about having enough stuff in one of his skits. He talks about having a house full of stuff, and then going on vacation, and having to decide what is important enough to pack. Then while you’re on vacation, you take an overnight trip, and you have to consolidate your stuff down even more. You have to figure how what is the important stuff or what you HOPE is the important stuff.

So what IS the important stuff? Christ promised an abundant life – not defined by things but by purpose and meaning. We, as Christians, and as the church, have to help people find this abundant life; not defined by an abundance of stuff, but an abundance of meaning. 

It brings us right back around to John Wesley’s idea of creating a society based on values!