A river runs through it
A Real Families column
by Gerald ShenkPrint Article Email to a Friend
An Iranian ayatollah, Abe Lincoln, Maria Montessori and a Serbian author nicknamed Dragon (Zmaj) have been watching me while I work. The combined value of their portraits when purchased would have been about $10. The faces stare up from a stack of currency notes on my desk, each with a story.
Among my early memories is another collection of money, the earnings I put away in a “missionary bank” to help with the work of people I prayed for, such as my uncle Nevin in far-off Africa. At five cents a basket, wages for picking potatoes did not accumulate rapidly; there was plenty of time to think about the adventures he would report from Shirati Hospital in Tanzania.
Along my journey, money has undergone huge changes. I used to think of it as pieces I could hold on to or give to someone. It had texture, shape and feel, even a certain smell.
Today, money is more like a fluid than a solid. It comes and goes through electronic accounts that operate in an invisible realm. We carry bits of plastic with our data encoded to ease the flow; there’s a lot more flow than cash in “cash flow” now than there used to be. Income and expenses course through our lives like a river, creating deep channels.
How are we handling this powerful current that charges through our lives? By itself, a piece of money is little more than a promise, an instrument of trust. It is a commitment to treat claims as valuable, but its strength is only as trustworthy as the issuing entity. Two of the bills on my desk are of no monetary value today. The Italian lire note with Montessori, the lovely wizened teacher, has been replaced by the Euro. And the Yugoslav note, at face value 500 billion dinars, was worth less than a penny when I got it in Miloševic’s Serbia in 1993. Dubious honor for a dragon.
Trust and a river current: Perhaps this more recent concept of money can help us get a better glimpse of what Jesus intended with his teachings on wealth. As recorded in Luke 15-16, Jesus warns against squandering property or hoarding wealth in isolation. Where riches cut us off from relating to others, Jesus clearly urges right use of resources for worthy purposes. His parables affirm the generosity of throwing a party in celebration and the cleverness that turns assets into building relationships. Too much accumulation is like a stagnant pond.
Our families are the first and the best places to teach trust and celebration. Generosity keeps the goodness flowing, rather than rotting like manna hoarded in the desert.
When our families are tuned to the values of God’s kingdom, we will question the ordinary assumptions from our culture about how this powerful current should flow from one generation to the next. Being generous to our children does not mean it is wise to abruptly saddle them with large inheritances. If we teach our children the importance of productive work and meaningful service to others, why would we suddenly hand them large sums they did not earn? In former times, when this might have been the takeover of a family business or purchase of a first home, the share of family resources used to fund the new development was an investment of working capital. But with today’s lengthy life spans, our elders may see their children reach retirement before the frugal parents die and make their bequests.
My father has served for more than five decades as a wise counselor in finance for families and church agencies. His calm, confident approach to managing funds with careful stewardship is an inspiration to many. While the culture at large was embarking on a prolonged binge of spending more than we actually have, my parents with relatively low income always managed to spend less than they had, leaving plenty to share with others. I know this brings them joy.
They have informed their children that this generosity will continue even when their life here is finished. Various bequests will carry out their intentions for helping in the Lord’s work long after they’ve stopped earning and spending on their own. They will also be generous toward their family in their estate plans, but that will not be the largest share of what they accomplish, when parting for good.
Such quiet generosity and joy are markers of God’s kingdom, I’m certain. True wealth is never private or individual but a river of generosity. We are all richer by far when we trust that all is gift in the first place, held on loan from the giver of all good. Puts a different face on money, doesn’t it?
Gerald Shenk teaches at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va., and is involved with The Table, an emerging Mennonite congregation in Harrisonburg.
Related Resources
Discussion Guides:
Current Stories
Articles
News stories, digests and Meno Acontecer
- WEB EXCLUSIVE: ROMEOs are "Retired Old Men Eating Out"
- Goshen chapter of ROMEOs keeps hope alive
- Students learn theology in butchering
- CLC sees unequal racial, gender balance
- Mennonites and Catholics seek healing
- Children enjoy Harvest Day at Crossroads in Virginia
- Methodist bishop shares peace background
- John Byers, MWC Koinonia member, dies
- Preserving an art tradition in Guatemala
- Duke professor speaks about food at CMU
- CPT recalls team from Algonquin blockage
- MCC ships aid to Nicaragua after hurricane
- New name for Shalom Foundation
- Group meets to reduce handgun violence
- MDS considers response to California wildfires
Columns
- An army of love
- A river runs through it
- People-friendly good news
- Move beyond prayer to stop the war
Readers Say
- Look at the past objectively
- Why start at the top with health-care access?
- The idol in our midst
- The idol in our midst II
- The idol in our midst III
- Plea for U.S. leaders
- Plea for U.S. leaders II
- The appeal of cities
- Getting started in leadership
Additional Notes
Gerald Shenk teaches at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va., and is involved with The Table, an emerging Mennonite congregation in Harrisonburg.
Subscribe