I received the following letter some time ago from my good friend Tim Stafford, who is launching an African youth magazine called Step. “Dear Harold,” he wrote. “If this seems worse than my normal typing, it’s because I’m banging on a manual. That’s due to a power shortage, which means we have no electricity in Nairobi for half of every day. This is due to the drought, which keeps us from having enough water in the dams. It also means we have no hot water, no milk, no cheese, no rice, no maize meal (a Kenyan staple). I miss the hot water the most-the shower is very chilly in the morning. It does wake you up! Still, the life of a missionary is not so bad in Nairobi. In fact, I like it.”
Money. Working with this issue’s theme has brought to mind Tim’s cheerfulness in a situation with relatively little of it. Another time Tim mentioned visiting an African Christian in what we would call very primitive conditions, but quickly becoming oblivious to the surroundings in the warmth of fellowship. Though these Africans have comparatively little, Tim, in this culture, found himself thinking much less about money and possessions -which seem so central to our thoughts as Americans.
Our nation’s health is judged on its economics: advertising equates goods as necessary to the good life Check the evening news or Time/Newsweek commentaries on social needs, politics- any subject-and evaluate how much is based on the idea that money purveys happiness, and its lack equals misery.
Can people really live happy, fulfilled lives with very little money?
I was intrigued by a short item in Psychology Today a couple of years ago that cited a survey on happiness and wealth. Persons all over the world were interviewed, and they found that peasants on a subsistence level were generally no more or less happy than the affluent. Comparing the many cultures surveyed, only one sharp difference stood out in the correlation between wealth and happiness. In poor cultures or rich, persons were found to be happier if they had more than their neighbor!
There’s a wealth of sermon material in that finding!
It might be argued that our American culture is as obsessed by money and the “necessities” of our lifestyle as it is about sex. And beyond this mindset, all of us daily are given the opportunity to be unhappy through envying our neighbor, as the media showers us with images of deoderized, designer-clad consumers.
Is this why the bad economic news of the past few years has become such a torture to so many Americans? To be told we must cut back seems a violation of all that for decades has been draining into our consciousness. How much have we all been conditioned to think money is the measure of most things, including our own worth and happiness? Can we escape the obsessions of our culture and think in a truly biblical way?
One personal decision I’ve made is to allow the media to “massage” me less. To seek God takes concentration on him, his Word, prayer, Christian books, and fellowship. Does the evening news, daily paper, news magazine, or even “cultural events” take precedence? Thoreau said that after you’d read one newspaper you didn’t need to read another, since one murder or robbery was much the same except in details; and C.S. Lewis simply avoided reading newspapers. As the years progress, their viewpoint seems increasingly compelling. They objected, of course, to the lack of thought and content in newspapers, but even the erudite journals can ultimately generate “shared obsessions” in us when they become our focal point. Barth said the Christian must have the Bible in one hand and a newspaper in the other, but so many of us these days get a lot more secular media than we do Bible!
As we minister in affluent America (it still is!), we need to transcend the assumptions of our culture with a concentration on truly Christian values. Obviously, it’s not easy!
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Speaking of materialism, from time to time we get letters accusing us of being frightfully unethical, and perhaps even money hungry. The reasons? We allow LEADERSHIP names to be mailed to other organizations. A few people get upset about that, and they have a right to their feelings. But, frankly, I see it a whole different way, and I’d like to share my reasons.
1. The vast majority of people like to get all the mail they can. Whenever people are given a choice to have their names added to lists or dropped, most by far ask to get on more lists. The statistical evidence shows readers want to find more mail about missions, colleges, books, and other magazines in their mailboxes.
2. Those who do not want extra mad can stop it. Like most magazines, at an alert from you, we can put your name in a special category so you’ll receive LEADERSHIP, and only LEADERSHIP.
3. Without the renting of names among various organizations, magazines like Christianity Today and LEADERSHIP would find it very difficult, perhaps even impossible, to survive. Mailings work efficiently to find the readers who really want the product. Those who don’t want what’s offered can just toss the envelope (without guilt!). Dollar for dollar, it’s still a very cost-effective means of reaching a national audience.
4. Since we must use other ministries’ mailing lists to survive, we believe we have an obligation to make our list available to carefully selected, reputable organizations.
However, to you in the minority, who just can’t stand the sight of that extra mail, we respect your viewpoint and will be very happy to receive your mailing label and code it for you. We want to serve all of you in the best possible manner, and we’d appreciate hearing from you on any subject, especially if you have helpful suggestions on how we can improve.
Harold L. Myra President, Christianity Today, Inc.
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