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What sparked this line of thinking for me was an odd
juxtaposition in the paper this past Monday. On the front page
were several articles recounting the devastation and attendant
difficulties in the wake of Hurricane Floyd - death, destruction,
disease. We knew. But on the inside of the paper, in the
business section, was a story that told of a businessman, a
Connecticut contractor, whose specialty is homes for the super
rich.(1) It talked about a plywood box marked "Fragile" that
contained a 5,000 pound antique bathtub carved from a single
block of marble which will sit in the master bathroom of this $7-million house - 20,000 square feet, five-car garage, matching 16
x 12 walk-in closets for husband and wife. The builder went on
to say that this is nothing unusual - thousand-dollar door
hinges, $10,000 gold-plated faucets, custom-made cabinets, even
in the laundry room, are common in homes like these. Conspicuous
consumption writ LARGE. As I read I thought, "Who will give a
rip when that house gets wiped out in a hurricane?"
The scripture that jumps to mind is the story that Jesus
told(2) of the fellow who goes nameless in scripture but I will
nickname Bigger Barns. Bigger was a farmer who had done well for
himself, VERY well. A fine, upstanding fellow as far as we know,
no slumlord or drug dealer, he does not cheat his employees or
mistreat them. Bigger is a hard worker, an upstanding citizen.
Through a combination of skill and luck and plain hard work, his
investment and labor have paid off. He has got this massive crop
in and now he needs storage space. Good for him. He says to
himself, "I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and
there I will store all my grain and my goods." So far, so good.
But then Bigger continues, "And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you
have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be
merry.'"
Nice thought. But we know how the story ends. God says,
"You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you.
And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?" Good
question. The same thing I wondered about that marble bathtub.
It reminded me of the two fellows who were talking about the
demise of a rich neighbor. One asked the other, "How much did he
leave?" And the friend responded, "All of it."
The second scripture that jumped to mind was that passage we
read from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus' words about "stuff."
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal"...or we
might add where it floats away in a flood or is left behind in an
evacuation..."but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not
break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also."
The Rev. Gayle Donnelly is pastor of First Presbyterian
Church, Darien, Georgia (on the mainland near St. Simons Island).
Gayle was one of the many evacuated as Hurricane Floyd
approached. She has shared some fascinating reflections on the
experience. Listen: I had a box of pictures - albums of my childhood,
two albums that belong to my children, my wedding album
and assorted pictures. This was hauled into my
friend's car to keep safe...What really matters after
all is being safe and warm and dry. I took my dear
Magic who was not at all happy about being in the cat
carrier again...I took some of my CDS. I knew that I
wanted music so my portable CD player was important. I
also took my own embroidery. A few good books, my
Bible and the sermon preparation material for this
Sunday and I was set. Well almost. I also took
bottled water, Coke, peanut butter and crackers and
lots of fruit. Next came the candles and batteries,
flashlights, and an oil lamp. A change of sheets,
pillows and two flannel, quilted blankets that my Aunt
had made. I felt like the Mother on Little House on the
Prairie.
Rather like camping out. I invited my elderly
neighbor to join me in this adventure and we did just
fine. It was amazing to see the traffic! It is
estimated that over 2 million people were evacuated
from this region and all hit the roads. It took us 4
hours for a trip that would have been just over 2.
Some folks sat in bumper to bumper traffic for miles
and miles. As we headed back it was astonishing to see
all the disabled cars at the side of the roads. Not
old junks either - luxury cars like Volvos and Saabs,
BMWs and more. I guess many just overheated.
Out at the motel where we camped out we were lucky
to have reservations. People were coming in who had
driven as far north as Atlanta and had headed back
because there were no rooms. At 4:00 we were told the
closest available rooms were in Birmingham, Alabama or
Nashville, Tenn. Seemed almost unbelievable. Folks
slept in cars and in our parking lot. We offered our
room for showers to some. They were so grateful. They
eyed our "stash" of goodies and soon we were fixing
snacks for some hapless, stranded travelers. It became
a blessing for me to be able to help in some way...
We arrived back home about 4:00 yesterday. Darien
looked like a ghost town. There was a sign on the Post
Office - Closed Until Further Notice. Really creepy!
But all was fine at home. Misty - my outside cat -
greeted us with many whimpers of displeasure at our
departure. She is so sweet and so vocal but not a cat
that I can bring indoors as she tends to "spray" when
she is being territorial, so not motel material. I
took some time to put all my pictures back on the walls
and tried to unpack a bit...
Thank you all for remembering me in your prayers
and all of us faced with the threat of this latest
hurricane. All in all it was quite an experience and
important in a way for me...now I really know what
matters most. It is my family and my friends and my
God. It is helping people in need. It is sharing of
resources with others in need. It is a good bed and
shelter and food. I will be fine in any situation if I
think vertically - remembering to ask What Would Jesus
Do? Everything I have is after all simply "things".
And can be replaced. But no human life can be wasted.
No talent given by God can be hidden. Compassion and
prayer are healing and are ours to give in every
situation and for all people. You know - that will
Preach!!!(3) Indeed, it will, Gayle. Indeed, it will. Sometimes it
takes an event like Floyd to help us put things in perspective,
to help us sort the wheat from the chaff in the jumble of our
lives, to help us see what is truly important.
This week we buried Slick Shepherd, at age 95 St. Paul's
oldest member. Not too many of you knew Slick - he did not join
this church until he was 90 and, because of ill health, was never
able to attend.
Slick was a character. I never asked him how he got his
nickname - probably something to do with hair way back when. He
was more than a bit of a curmudgeon. Everything else on him had
failed - eyesight, hearing, mobility, but not his temper...he
could let loose with the best of them. One day I walked in to
visit and he started loudly berating me for something, I knew not
what. In moment the housekeeper interrupted, "Mr Shepherd, Mr.
Shepherd, do you know who that is?" He glared angrily in her
direction. "Mr. Shepherd, that's your pastor." Oops. He
thought I was someone else. Sheepishly, he apologized.
Slick's vocation was newspapers - he was City Editor of the
Greensboro News for a number of years until his retirement. But
his A-vocation was helping desperate people, alcoholics who had
come to the end of their rope. You see, he knew what that was
like; he had been one himself.
Slick leaves behind a remarkable legacy. He personally
organized several of the 12-step meetings in Greensboro that are
continuing to this day. In the late '60's, Slick and a couple of
friends realized the need for an inpatient facility in this
community to care for those with drug and alcohol addictions.
The result of that vision was Fellowship Hall, a treatment center
with a $4-million annual budget paid for entirely by
contributions and patient fees. The Board of Directors is
comprised of successful business people, some of whom are former
patients, who now, in their sobriety, want to reach out to others
with addiction problems. Fellowship Hall currently has 48 beds
for residential care plus an extensive outpatient service as
well. Since its opening day in 1971, Fellowship Hall has treated
more than 20,000 of our neighbors, people who, whether they know
his name or not, literally owe their lives to Slick Shepherd.
Indeed, quite a legacy. And all because he learned...the hard
way...some of what is truly important.
Slick had a favorite quote, a copy of which he gave me
several years ago to hang on the wall in my office. At the end
of the War between the States, during the cleanup of a battle
field, it was found in the Bible of a freed slave who had died in
the battle. It was a prayer that Slick adopted as his own:
This question of what is truly important is not new to you.
In fact, I am equally sure that the answer is not new to you
either. But in a society such as ours that places such a premium
on the accumulation of "stuff," the marble bathtubs and $7-million houses, we need the occasional reminder to help us keep
perspective. If there is any idolatry that is rampant in
American society, it is this idolatry of "stuff."
If it is any consolation, the problem is not new. The folks
who heard Jesus on that Judean hillside had the same problem.
Jesus said do not worry about "stuff" - God knows what you need
and will provide for you just as the birds of the air are fed and
the lilies of the field are dressed. And if God will take care
of the birds and flowers so well, think how well YOU will be
taken care of.
"What it boils down to is this:" Jesus went on, "if you are
going to be concerned about anything, it should be to see that
the things that are important to God are equally important to
you. Then you can be absolutely confident that everything else
that you need will be taken care of." Or as the King James
Version of the Bible in which we were all nurtured has it, "Seek
ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added unto you."
I knew a man whose whole life was firmly grounded upon that
promise. He was a minister. He never had much money, but he was
absolutely faithful in his tithe, and in fact, generally gave a
good deal more as God prospered him because he understood the
tithe was a floor, not a ceiling. There were not many luxuries
in his home, but there was never any lack of necessities. None
of his six children missed out on going to college because there
was not enough money. He never worried. His attitude was, "God
has always provided enough so far; I know He always will."
After his death, the congregation he had served so long
wanted to do something in his memory. They commissioned a bronze
plaque to be cast and placed on the wall of the sanctuary where
he had preached for so many years. At the bottom of that plaque
was the verse that had meant so much to him throughout his life
and ministry: "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His
righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." I
had the privilege of preaching at the dedication service for that
plaque. God had been faithful to that man. I know. He was my
father.
What is truly important to you? Not "stuff" I hope. We
have been reminded too graphically lately that "stuff" can be
gone in a flash...or a flash flood. Jesus says "Seek first the
kingdom of God and His righteousness," or in a more modern
rendering, "Make God's priorities YOUR priorities," then
everything else will fall into place. THAT is what is truly
important.
Amen!
1. Maggie Jackson, Associated Press, "The Good Old Days Are Now," Greensboro News &
Record, 9/20/99, B6 2. Luke 12:16-20 3. Posted by Carlos Wilton on PresbyNet, "Preaching Stewardship," #1688, 9/16/99
We evacuated safely - [the] only casualty was one
of my precious embroidered pictures that got skrunched
in the trunk and now needs to have the glass replaced
but otherwise is safe...It was an amazing experience
being faced with decisions about what is precious.
There had been some talk about the possibility of storm
surges and flooding and possible tornadoes. If I had
my house wiped out, what would I miss most? I scurried
through my house into the wee small hours of the
morning - making decisions and then discounting them
and starting over again. I finally realized that all
belongs to God anyway so why fret. I took all the
embroidery made by members of my family - especially
those deceased - my Mom and my Aunt - all then my will,
my living will, checks and recent tax information. I
took pictures of everything else for insurance claims
and just left. It was very freeing.
And I ain't what I wanna be,
And I ain't what I gonna be.
But Lord, I thank ya, I ain't what I was."
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