Just Thinking…

I was at School of Discipleship in Canberra over the weekend.

It was really good, interesting, challenging, with new people to meet and get to know.

Ched Myers was the main speaker, if was fascinating. He was talking about an entirely different way to live and a different way to view and participate in our economic system.

Mostly, I was impressed that every thing he said he backed up with the new and old testament. Everything he said about the new testament was taking into account what the old testament said too.  I really think that I need to spend more time looking at and understanding the old testament.

Most of the ‘different way to live’ stuff was stuff that I had been thinking about already, I just like that he managed to tie it all in with Faith. I am now more convinced that going vego is the right thing to do and that buying local organic produce is the right thing to do.

The more I have processed it, the more I think that I need to lay aside my own goals and actually set my goals to make the world a better place. I think that there is still room in that for me to be happy and healthy and have some fun.

Im even more convinced that going to Thailand is a good choice. I think that some time with people who are not as privileged as me will be helpful, it will help me to look at my life from a better perspective. At the moment I struggle because I compare myself to both my church friends and my non-church friends, it meants that I cant actually attain either standard. I cant be good at both. I cant have the investments and financial security and live out my faith. I guess that is the thing, compared to 90% (ish) of the worlds population I am quite secure, I know that the chance of me ever going hungry is pretty low. That is going to have to be enough for me, if I dont own a helicopter or a yacht then that is OK. If I dont own a home or a good car, then that is OK. If I cant go on as many holidays as I am used to then that is OK too.

I think actually spending some time with actually poor people will help to give me the perspective that I need to be able to do this without feeling gypped.

Other thoughts on SoD. I struggled a bit with some of the organisers. I felt like we were being treated like a group of children, or more accuratly a herd of cattle. We were constantly being told where to be and being moved around. I didnt like it and so rebeled, maybe not the most mature option, i know that, but I didnt realise that until too late. Its just a shame that people running something like this feel as though they cant trust a group of adults to behave like adults.

Anyway, I had fun and was challenged and have a lot more thinking to do. Especially around economics and what messages I want to send around the global economy (through purchases, choosing not to purchase, earnings, choosing not to earn etc)