The Dynamics- Day Two
We are all familiar with the words of Paul, it is more blessed to give than to receive, but I often conjure up visions of wrapped packages and clandestine envelopes of money stuffed into mailboxes when I think of them.
Today I had a new thought about this verse in light of my subject matter this week, and I was wondering if in the context of Bible-school this means that the the teachers, the principal, the cooks, the cleaners, the families hosting students and the man updating the website (better know to me as my husband!) will be more blessed than the students?
I signed up to serve supper to the Bible-school students on Thursday evening of my own volition and am really looking forward to it, but sometimes the work of planning a menu, lining up helpers, searching for the best buys in bulk quantity, mixing up huge pans of food, and scrambling to serve it up fresh at just the right moment can feel like hours of work compared to minutes of consumption!
We'll probably be finishing up the dishes on Thursday around the time they're starting to get hungry again, especially since they're off to play volley-ball after our meal!!!
So. much. work. goes into Bible-school, but I think there's a right way and a wrong way to look at the dynamics of what goes on behind the scenes during a week like this.
Instead of looking for appreciation or applause (or even certain results) it might be helpful to think of it in these two ways:
1. What the contribution does for the contributor...
The idea of "do it for myself" may sound selfish right off the bat, but the idea comes from a book I am reading right now called The Happiness Project, and while the author is not looking at it from a Christian perspective, I think there is a lot of truth behind being okay with the sense of satisfaction and worth a job done for someone else gives to us personally, instead of needing heaps of praise and recognition from other sources.
In reality, my giving does benefit me, and while some of it may come in the form of "spiritual blessings", much of it is right here, right now, in the "excuse" to call the other two ladies who are helping me to discuss supper details, and the fun of stuffing 100 enchiladas with Janet in the church kitchen.
Bible-school has a way of bringing the community together for a common purpose, and that in itself is no small gain.
2. What the various contributions do for the bigger picture...
So, the cleaners are going to go in every day and wash the commodes and empty the trash...and are they going to get a single thank-you? Probably not!!! And yet, what exactly would the facilities look like after several days of neglect? I am guessing that if we became known as The Bible-school with the Filthy Bathrooms that we might have to do quite a bit of urging next year to get anyone to come!!! Therefore, it is easily deduced that the cleaners add a few very important brushstrokes to the overall picture of what will welcome and bless our young people.
The same goes for the food! I would hate to think of what would happen if we left the young people to subsist on pizza parlors and fast food joints all week because feeding them was just too much work! (Yuck!!!)
I know from experience that the students are a grateful bunch, but I also know that if I am hoping to get back what I put in on the scales of equality, that I am not going to find it! Instead, I like to think of my meal as being part of a whole.
This week many hands are reaching out, each with a pearl to give.
Here a pearl, there a pearl...
And in the end a beautiful necklace.
Today I had a new thought about this verse in light of my subject matter this week, and I was wondering if in the context of Bible-school this means that the the teachers, the principal, the cooks, the cleaners, the families hosting students and the man updating the website (better know to me as my husband!) will be more blessed than the students?
I signed up to serve supper to the Bible-school students on Thursday evening of my own volition and am really looking forward to it, but sometimes the work of planning a menu, lining up helpers, searching for the best buys in bulk quantity, mixing up huge pans of food, and scrambling to serve it up fresh at just the right moment can feel like hours of work compared to minutes of consumption!
We'll probably be finishing up the dishes on Thursday around the time they're starting to get hungry again, especially since they're off to play volley-ball after our meal!!!
So. much. work. goes into Bible-school, but I think there's a right way and a wrong way to look at the dynamics of what goes on behind the scenes during a week like this.
Instead of looking for appreciation or applause (or even certain results) it might be helpful to think of it in these two ways:
1. What the contribution does for the contributor...
The idea of "do it for myself" may sound selfish right off the bat, but the idea comes from a book I am reading right now called The Happiness Project, and while the author is not looking at it from a Christian perspective, I think there is a lot of truth behind being okay with the sense of satisfaction and worth a job done for someone else gives to us personally, instead of needing heaps of praise and recognition from other sources.
In reality, my giving does benefit me, and while some of it may come in the form of "spiritual blessings", much of it is right here, right now, in the "excuse" to call the other two ladies who are helping me to discuss supper details, and the fun of stuffing 100 enchiladas with Janet in the church kitchen.
Bible-school has a way of bringing the community together for a common purpose, and that in itself is no small gain.
2. What the various contributions do for the bigger picture...
So, the cleaners are going to go in every day and wash the commodes and empty the trash...and are they going to get a single thank-you? Probably not!!! And yet, what exactly would the facilities look like after several days of neglect? I am guessing that if we became known as The Bible-school with the Filthy Bathrooms that we might have to do quite a bit of urging next year to get anyone to come!!! Therefore, it is easily deduced that the cleaners add a few very important brushstrokes to the overall picture of what will welcome and bless our young people.
The same goes for the food! I would hate to think of what would happen if we left the young people to subsist on pizza parlors and fast food joints all week because feeding them was just too much work! (Yuck!!!)
I know from experience that the students are a grateful bunch, but I also know that if I am hoping to get back what I put in on the scales of equality, that I am not going to find it! Instead, I like to think of my meal as being part of a whole.
This week many hands are reaching out, each with a pearl to give.
Here a pearl, there a pearl...
And in the end a beautiful necklace.
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