The haves?

DAILY BYTE

Yesterday, we heard about a widow in the book of 1 Kings who was destitute – the epitome of the “have nots.” Well as the story continues today, we watch with joy, as the widow’s needs are filled! We see that the morsel of flour and bit of oil she had miraculously is multiplied, flowing and flowing to provide for everyone.

And we find in the next scene of the story that the widow is no longer called a widow. Having received this provision, the writer of 1 Kings calls her now the “mistress of the house!” The ruler of her domain. She is no longer lacking – husbandless, wandering needy in the streets. She becomes the epitome of the “haves!” And oh, don’t we love to define people that way - differentiating them from the “have nots?!”

Instead of calling people “homeless,” they are “homeowners,” the needy full of need contrast with the wealthy full of wealth. Widows contrast with couples. And again, our list of labels for identifying people by what they “have” goes on and on….

We’re usually striving to be in this “haves” category, and we’re very happy to show off our prosperity when we arrive there. Yesterday, we asked if we define ourselves by what we lack. Today, we ask if we define ourselves by what we have. Is that who we are? People who have more than the next guy? People who show off our wealth, taking pride in our good health, our real estate, our monetary prosperity, our thriving families, even?

Well in Ancient Israel, children were their parents’ greatest source of wealth. Family equalled prosperity. We hear in this story from 1 Kings several times about the widow’s son. And by no accident, I believe. A son was a means of security, a blessing promising the continuation of a family line. He is a symbol of provision and prosperity. When the widow is dying from lack of provision, so is her son, and when she is celebrating from abundance, her whole household thrives with her.

And when she goes a bit overboard on her power trip as mistress of the house, the story takes a decided twist. The son, the symbol of that prosperity and blessing, falls ill, and we go back to the beginning of the story’s cycle, once again finding people on their deathbeds.

This seesaw between bemoaning our fate and celebrating our triumph reminds me of how we act, as people, and as a world. I think most obviously about the current state of this nation. Just a few days or weeks ago, as a country and as individuals, we were decrying the sky-high crime rates, focused on the massive governmental corruption and our fear that this country is headed for a path of destruction like Zimbabwe. But no one can deny the sense of triumph that has permeated this country over the last few days. We are celebrating our victory at pulling off this massive feat of an international phenomenon! We are showing the world that people wearing bullet-proof travel gear will not meet death when they step off the plane here, but they will meet a prosperous, hospitable nation!

As a people, we have swung from one end of the spectrum to the other – from being completely down on ourselves to patting ourselves firmly on the back for a job well done. Now I definitely don’t want to dampen the joy and remarkable unity these games have brought to this nation and to the world. That is not my point. My point is that our focus as individuals, as a country, and even as a church seems always to be either on what we are lacking or on what we have. On our insufficiency as human beings or on our victory.

And this story seems to be saying: we are missing the point.

Our human life is not defined by our neediness or triumph – our human lives are defined by the constant provision of the word of God. God does not view us by what we “have” or “have not.”

God sees us as children made in his image, and God constantly desires to provide for all of us.

How does this make you feel? What end of the spectrum are you on in your life right now? Do you see yourself as a “have” or a “have not?” How do you think God sees you?

FOCUS READING

1 Kings 17:16 (NRSV)

The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.