I know with it being Thanksgiving week and all, I should be writing something about being thankful for all we have. And of course I am, but for me being here in Sands Point, ranked by Bloomburg Bussinessnews as the 15th most wealthiest town in America, it has raised so many questions about wealth and poverty.
As I drive around this town I can't help but contemplate the inequity of life. In general, most of us are not exposed to this. Take for instance Farmington, the town I am from. There are a few doctors or business owners who are moderately wealthy and there are a few have nots, but in general there is no huge disparity between wealth and poverty or social statuses. We all rub shoulders at Walmart or Hannaford's or go hungry. There is no where else to shop. Not so, here.
I have searched my heart and although there is the slightest tinge of envy, for the most part there is only the question of why. Why are some born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouths while so many others are born in poverty? Why do some go through life always at the right place at the right time while others can't seem to catch a break no matter how hard they try?
I love the line from the Eagles song, The Sad Cafe. "I don't know why fortune smiles on some
and let's the rest go free" they croon. Take Robert for instance. We met Robert last week. His yard looked like someone had dropped a bomb on it. Thirteen enormous oak trees had come down in the storm. All had missed his house, fortunately. He came hobbling up to us on a crutch nursing a broken foot. During the storm a tree had come down in the road outside his house. Emergency crews showed up to clear the street and Robert went outside to see what was happening. He tripped over a fallen limb and broke his foot. He told me he laid there on the ground in pain watching trees whip in the wind wondering when one would fall on him. No one noticed him or his plight. He watched the emergency crews drive away and manged to drag himself back into the house. The next morning he looked out on a yard filled with the detritus of the storm. All of his neighbors were almost completely unscathed. A stray limb or two laying on their lawns was the only evidence that there had even been a hurricane.
The cleanup and removal of trees from Robert's yard was going to cost him a small fortune. The estimated amount was very close to the GDP of many third world nations. He wanted to know if we could help. I told him if he could get the debris to the street we would haul it off. This made Robert very happy. He hired Adam to cut and haul all thirteen trees to the street. He also asked Adam to cut down the one remaining oak, damaged by the storm, that remained in his yard. It measured three feet in diameter...a massive old tree. Adam began to cut. He put in his wedges, attached a come-a-along to guide its fall. He did everything right, made his last cut and the tree swung off the stump, turned 180 degrees...and fell directly onto Robert's newly remodelled $100,000 dollar kitchen. His wife who was in the kitchen at the time narrowly escaped with her life!
I don't know much about Robert other than he is "in salons". Obviously he has done well for himself, after all he does live in Sands Point. But from his perspective, life has not treated him fairly these past few weeks. He keeps asking, "Why, why me"? I don't think Robert is a "bad" person. As a matter of fact he seems like a decent sort, a good guy. I don't know why fortune smiles on some and let's the rest go free. I really don't. Sometimes life does seem unfair. There's a teaching going around in the Christian church that says that God wants all believers to be healthy and wealthy, that this is a sign of God's blessing on your life. I don't buy it. I have seen too many good people struggle financially or live with debilitating diseases. I have seen a lot of bad people who are wealthy because they have cheated, stolen and manipulated their way to the top. Instead, I agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes.
I have seen something else under the sun:
As I drive around this town I can't help but contemplate the inequity of life. In general, most of us are not exposed to this. Take for instance Farmington, the town I am from. There are a few doctors or business owners who are moderately wealthy and there are a few have nots, but in general there is no huge disparity between wealth and poverty or social statuses. We all rub shoulders at Walmart or Hannaford's or go hungry. There is no where else to shop. Not so, here.
I have searched my heart and although there is the slightest tinge of envy, for the most part there is only the question of why. Why are some born with the proverbial silver spoon in their mouths while so many others are born in poverty? Why do some go through life always at the right place at the right time while others can't seem to catch a break no matter how hard they try?
I love the line from the Eagles song, The Sad Cafe. "I don't know why fortune smiles on some
and let's the rest go free" they croon. Take Robert for instance. We met Robert last week. His yard looked like someone had dropped a bomb on it. Thirteen enormous oak trees had come down in the storm. All had missed his house, fortunately. He came hobbling up to us on a crutch nursing a broken foot. During the storm a tree had come down in the road outside his house. Emergency crews showed up to clear the street and Robert went outside to see what was happening. He tripped over a fallen limb and broke his foot. He told me he laid there on the ground in pain watching trees whip in the wind wondering when one would fall on him. No one noticed him or his plight. He watched the emergency crews drive away and manged to drag himself back into the house. The next morning he looked out on a yard filled with the detritus of the storm. All of his neighbors were almost completely unscathed. A stray limb or two laying on their lawns was the only evidence that there had even been a hurricane.
The cleanup and removal of trees from Robert's yard was going to cost him a small fortune. The estimated amount was very close to the GDP of many third world nations. He wanted to know if we could help. I told him if he could get the debris to the street we would haul it off. This made Robert very happy. He hired Adam to cut and haul all thirteen trees to the street. He also asked Adam to cut down the one remaining oak, damaged by the storm, that remained in his yard. It measured three feet in diameter...a massive old tree. Adam began to cut. He put in his wedges, attached a come-a-along to guide its fall. He did everything right, made his last cut and the tree swung off the stump, turned 180 degrees...and fell directly onto Robert's newly remodelled $100,000 dollar kitchen. His wife who was in the kitchen at the time narrowly escaped with her life!
 |
| Not a very clear picture, but here you can see Robert talking with Mark and Adam, the size of the tree's stump (right) and it's direct path to the house. |
I don't know much about Robert other than he is "in salons". Obviously he has done well for himself, after all he does live in Sands Point. But from his perspective, life has not treated him fairly these past few weeks. He keeps asking, "Why, why me"? I don't think Robert is a "bad" person. As a matter of fact he seems like a decent sort, a good guy. I don't know why fortune smiles on some and let's the rest go free. I really don't. Sometimes life does seem unfair. There's a teaching going around in the Christian church that says that God wants all believers to be healthy and wealthy, that this is a sign of God's blessing on your life. I don't buy it. I have seen too many good people struggle financially or live with debilitating diseases. I have seen a lot of bad people who are wealthy because they have cheated, stolen and manipulated their way to the top. Instead, I agree with the writer of Ecclesiastes.
I have seen something else under the sun:
The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
or the battle to the strong,
nor does food come to the wise
or wealth to the brilliant
or favor to the learned;
but time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
The race is not always to the swift or the battle to the strong. Sometimes it is, but not always. Time and Chance happen to all men. On this Thanksgiving week, perhaps a better question to ask than "why are others so much more fortunate than I" would be "what do I do with what I have been given". Should I use some of the abundance that Time and Chance has heaped on me to alleviate some of the misery that been has heaped on those whom Fortune has not smiled so kindly upon? Yes, I'm sure this is a better question and one that is perhaps far easier to answer.
Note: To those of you who are doctrinally inclined, I believe that health and wealth are blessings from God and that at times He chooses to bless in this way. But I also believe that "the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike" and "that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions".
Note: To those of you who are doctrinally inclined, I believe that health and wealth are blessings from God and that at times He chooses to bless in this way. But I also believe that "the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike" and "that a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions".
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