Crazy Idea #5 - Housing in Hard Times

I woke up this morning with another Crazy Idea. It had to do with my house. As small as it is, the mortgage may prove too much for me and I have been worrying about whether or not to sell it.

Rousing out of sleep, my paradigm shifted to an older one I once held. My mother grew up during the Great Depression. She garnered this piece of wisdom from those hard times: "if you are in financial trouble, don't go to the rich, the poor will always help you, because they know what it feels like." Later, when I became a Christian, I heard echoes of her statement in Jesus' own words "It is harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of the needle."

The point? "By your love for each other the world will know you are mine" John quotes Jesus as saying. In his letter, James elaborates by asserting that love goes beyond praying for people at church, it requires sharing material wealth where needed - a nuts and bolts involvement in each others' lives that our life styles make almost impossible. Our North American cultural obsession with material independence creates walls between people made up of a lack of time and energy. These walls, though not ill intended, are as difficult to penetrate as any castle fortification.

Well, the economy that allows us the luxury of material independence is wavering; those walls may be crumbling. Is that such a bad thing? Take my house for example. What if, instead of selling it and moving into a condo so that I can maintain my own material independence, I open it up and invite others, without homes, to live with me?

Such a radical move requires a level of faith, hope and love, I do not currently have. I fear losing my independence, my freedom, and yes, even my property. On the other hand, look at what I might gain - a more intimate relationship with others, a sense of community and belonging, shared responsibilities, and support for myself in times of need, not to mention the increased dependency on Jesus for His moment by moment grace.

Bottom line, do I want this? No, but, I am willing to be made willing. And Jesus has changed my heart before. What about you?