In Toil There Is Profit

"In all toil there is profit,
    but mere talk leads only to poverty." Proverbs 14:23

"Are you a Finn?" That was a strange question to be asked by a supervisor. But, that is exactly what I was asked years ago as I worked on a production line in a sewing factory. I had laughed and asked him how he could know that as I was living in North Carolina where there were very few people of Finnish descent. I knew of only one other. The supervisor was not of Finnish descent himself. He said he guessed that because of my work ethic. At the time, the company I worked for was laying me off and paying me unemployment one or two days every week because the particular station I worked at would run out of work by Wednesday or Thursday. In the history of the factory no one had ever made production at my station until that time.

I am still not sure how he would guess my ethnicity as I know a lot of people today of this same ethnic background who do not like to work and who will go out of their way to avoid it. I do not believe that ethnicity has much to do with our particular work ethics. Our work ethics are not necessarily dictated by our gene pool; but, has more to do with our environment.

I was taught at an early age that in order to live; in order to eat; in order to have shelter and heat, we must work. We must take care of responsibilities. We probably spend around one third of our lives working so we may as well do it well. We may as well throw ourselves into it and enjoy it.

Raising our sons, I would often make games out of household chores. We would work together so that the chores we had to complete would be more enjoyable for all. There is profit in our toil. Sometimes, it is merely to survive and to survive well. Other times it is so that we can share fruitful time with others.

Whatever we do, let us do it well that the work of our hands might glorify our Father in heaven.

God's Peace - Pr. J

Welcoming Strangers To The Table

And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying, “This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:2

I grew up in an area steeped in the Finnish-American culture. Finns like to feed people. One never went for coffee anywhere without having the table heaped with goodies, if not a full meal. My mother was an awesome hostess. She was a great cook. She often invited friends and strangers into our home. She and my dad would meet strangers as they wandered the countryside. She would invite them to come and visit. When they came, she would welcome them like they were royalty.

Whenever I travel, I try to find a place to worship; a house of God where my brothers and sisters in Christ will welcome me as well as all strangers. There is usually a multitude of choices. Maybe because of the culture I grew up in, I am acutely aware of whether or not I am really welcome to eat at the Lord's Table. Many congregations do not provide this meal to nourish the traveler or stranger. Others make it painfully obvious that strangers are not welcome at their table. They appear to be afraid that our sins are too great to allow us to partake of the food which will nourish our souls. They would keep us from the very Body of Christ that was given for our salvation.

May God help us to welcome both neighbor and stranger to receive the good gifts that God has provided us in His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord.

God's Peace - Pr. J

1 Corinthians 8 What We Eat Or Don't Eat

1 Corinthians 8 NIV
St. Paul said we should not worry about eating food sacrificed to idols. "Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall." (vs 13) But, let us consider that not eating meat might also cause them to fall.

Now, I have nothing against a vegetarian diet. I personally prefer only vegetables; but, I do eat meat for convenience sake. No one else in my family has ever been willing to eat only a vegetarian diet and definitely not a vegan diet!

I once knew a woman serving in her pastoral internship. She was a vegan. She served as a mission developer in a remote area. Needles to say, she knocked on more than a few doors and ended up at a lot of tables and community meals where she refused to touch most of what was on the menu. People indulged her; but, they also talked about her. It hampered her ministry and ultimately she did not make it through her internship. Now, some may think that the people who judged because of what she would not eat were petty. But, we also need to understand that she was trying to become one of the community and was acting totally alien to the community; rejecting their culture and ultimately, in their eyes, rejecting and judging them because they ate meat. Her diet kept them from hearing the Word of God. May sound petty, but it is true. They did not listen to her. They shut their ears to her. She was proclaiming the Gospel; but, no one was listening.

Now, this is not to say that vegetarians and vegans have no place in the ministry. There is nothing wrong with a vegetarian diet. It is probably a good thing for many. What we eat or don't eat should have no bearing on our ministry. But, sometimes it does. We have long recognized that it is a good thing for there be some kind of compatibility between the pastor and congregation for mission to be able to occur well. Usually, it is necessary to accept the culture of a community that we are serving before the people of that culture are going to receive us or anything we have to say. Now, I know that this intern did not consider meat to be a false god that just us pagans eat. However, her adherence to such a strict diet was such an issue for her that it appeared to others to sometimes take precedence over the Gospel. Her diet; not theirs, was the false god in the eyes of those she was trying to introduce to Jesus.

"But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do. Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak." (vs 8, 9) So, keep in mind the context of the community that you are called to serve. Since, eating is something that occurs daily, it is a huge part of a community's culture. No two communities are completely alike. Accept them for who they are. God does!

One of my pet peeves pertains to training that churches often have on how to minister to specific ethnic groups. I had attended more than one in my previous denomination. The problem is these classes tend to generalize people. No two people are alike. No two communities are alike. I have served a community on and near an Ojibway Reservation for sixteen years and I can tell you that you cannot get to know what a person or community is like until you get to know them personally. The Ojibway culture is different than other Native American cultures. Someone who lives in the Southwest lives in the different culture than someone who lives in the Midwest; regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. There are similarities, of course; but, no two are so alike that we can take a class and actually know everything. I have also seen pastors of various denominations fall when it comes to serving Finnish Americans. We have a culture all of our own here in the U.P.. I've known pastors who have come here and have actually tried to "fix" us! Doesn't work... You're here to proclaim the Gospel. Jesus fixes. He saves. We don't.

There are no classes that can teach you what someone is like. "We know that 'We all possess knowledge. But knowledge puffs up while love builds up.'" (vs 1) Sit down at the table and eat with those whom you would serve; talk with them and even more importantly, listen! And... please, don't turn your nose up at anything that your host would serve. 

God's Peace - Pr. J