Be Weird

Sunday afternoon I was reading the portion of Exodus with the Ten Commandments, in preparation for our small group on Sunday night (I am a champion procrastinator).  And one of them jumped out at me. The tenth commandment:

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."  (Exodus 20:17)

Here's what I wrote in my journal about it:

Covet = wanting what someone else has = American culture
-it's normal and expected to covet in our culture ---> BE WEIRD  :)  


I was especially convicted by this commandment in that moment, mostly because I had spent the previous two hours making a Christmas/Birthday list for Jack to give to his grandma's.  Two hours online looking at things to want.  And today I'm getting ready to make a similar wish list for myself and Dustin.  Things we want.  Ugh.

It is SO our culture to want what we don't have.  Sometimes we call it "keeping up with the Joneses."  Sometimes we call it "The American Dream."  But really it's all coveting.  Whether it's something big like a car or a house ("I wish mine was more like that one....") or something small, like an article of clothing or the newest gadget, we wish we had other stuff.  More stuff.  It's considered normal and even expected to want stuff.  But it's SO counter what the Bible tells us.

Last fall I heard Francis Chan speak, and he shared about how he and his wife were discovering the difference between normal and weird.  What is normal in the Bible?  And what is weird?  THAT should be our standard.  The Word says, "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him..."  Foolishness.  America-in-December is gonna think this mindset is foolish.  And weird.

So what do we do with this?  How do we deal with the culture of coveting?  Especially when people are asking you for a list of things you want for Christmas?  (By the way, if any of you gift-givers are reading this, I appreciate you wanting to love on us by giving gifts.  I'm just trying to figure out a godly way to do it.)

Here's what I decided: as I make our Christmas list today, I have criteria.  Everything I ask for will fall into one of these categories:

1.  Stuff we need.  Things that we would buy anyway if we didn't get them as gifts.  This way it saves us from having to buy it.  (example: all three of us take Shaklee vitamins every day)
2.  Stuff from companies that give back.  (example: TOMS shoes)
3.  Stuff that is made by people who get paid a fair wage for making it.  This includes fair trade items from around the world (from organizations like Ten Thousand Villages or The Hunger Site), as well as local handmade items.  (Etsy probably fits into this category too)
4.  Stuff that will encourage relationships.  (example: activities we can enjoy as a family, or games we can play with the neighbors, friends, etc.)
5.  Stuff that will help us get to know Jesus better.  (example: books)
6.  Stuff for others.  Donations to organizations in our name.  (example: Samaritan's Purse has a gift catalog)

People can get us whatever they're gonna get us.  I can't control that.  But I certainly can control what I ask for.  And I need to feel good about what I ask for.  This was a very timely conviction.  I am thankful for that.

In a culture of coveting, I will do my best to be weird.