A few weeks ago one our vehicles experienced the sort of
mechanical failure that can really throw your routine out of whack. We had been
out of town for a week and flew in late on Saturday evening. The following day
the alternator of one of our two cars “fried” as we drove to church. I knew
something was wrong because the battery light kept flickering on and off. On
the way home we tried to stop at SEARS to have the car checked but they were
closed. Now the battery light was on steady – and I suspected we were driving
on battery power alone. We thought that maybe we could get the electrical
system checked at a local auto parts store that was on our way home.
An eighth of a mile from that store we lost all power but
were miraculously able to “coast” into the parking lot. The battery was dead. A
turn of the key didn’t even produce a clicking sound. The store attendant
tested the electrical system and insisted that the battery alone was the
problem. I wasn’t so sure but I didn’t want to argue and we needed to get home
so we purchased a new battery and with the strength of its charge we were able
to drive the car home. The battery light, however, began to flicker on and off again.
Once home I tested the battery with a meter in our driveway and concluded that
the alternator was the real problem. So we dropped the car off in the lot of
our local mechanic’s shop so it would be there on Monday morning when he
arrived at his shop. That Sunday evening we began sorting out how we were going
to manage with one vehicle on a hectic “first day” back to work and our normal
workweek routine.
My wife was scheduled to do an early workout on Monday so
that would have to be cancelled. She called her physical trainer to let her know. To my
wife’s surprise, the trainer, without any hesitation, offered to lend us her
car. It was an extraordinary gesture of spontaneous generosity. After a pause
my wife accepted the offer and this woman’s next remark was, “where would you
like me to bring the car?”. We insisted that we would pick up the car and this
woman loaned us her pristine, sporty, late model Cadillac for as long as we
needed it! I don’t know about you but I don’t believe that I would have done
that. Maybe an offer to give her a ride somewhere - but not that.
That evening with the Cadillac sitting our driveway we
marveled at the trust, the generosity and the ease with which this woman had
loaned us the car that was her pride and joy.
The next day our mechanic dropped what he was doing and
repaired our car by that evening (a testimony to the value of loyal
relationships and of local family run small businesses). We returned the Cadillac to
the woman who had loaned it to us and my wife mentioned that she wanted to do
something as a “thank you”. The woman was adamant; “Absolutely not!” she said.
Then she explained that she had had car troubles not long ago and another woman
had loaned her her car on the stipulation that she “pay it forward”. Now her
“pay it forward” obligation was fulfilled. She went on to say that it was
amazing how quickly the opportunity to “pay it forward” had presented itself.
That explained her instant readiness to recognize and respond to our need. Now
we could “pay it forward”.
We know this woman to be of the giving sort. The “pay it
forward” spirit resonated with this woman’s own kind heart as it has with many
other people. “Paying it forward” has given many the permission to be
spontaneously altruistic to acquaintances and even strangers to whom they would
not otherwise extend an extraordinary favor. So now my wife and I have a “pay
it forward” debit on our new “pay it forward” account. I wonder how long it
will be until an opportunity presents itself to balance our book? I also wonder
how quick we will be to recognize the opportunity and jump at the chance to
“pay it forward” to “whomever” circumstance places in our path? I hope we
respond in as fine a fashion as this woman did toward us.
I got to thinking; certainly there was an element of
obligation in this woman’s gesture to us but there was a greater element of joy
in the whole thing. There was a recent national news story about a drive-thru
coffee shop that had an unbroken chain of well over 100 “pay it forward”
customers. The remarks of the participants in that chain were diverse; Some had
been more than happy to go along, most thought it was a wonderful experience,
others had felt bound by obligation and somewhat powerless to break the chain.
The person who ended the chain had simply refused to keep it going. Part of me
had braced at the selfishness of the spoilsport and another part of me had
applauded his (yes it was a guy) spirit of nonconformity. Would I have gone
along with it? Probably - but I’d be hoping the guy behind me was only ordering
a small black coffee.
On further reflection I am convicted by the woman who loaned us her car for her cheerful
gesture and what it has provoked in my thoughts. I am a Christian and I have to
admit that the cheerful giver referred to in 2 Corinthians 9:7 lends a lot to
this discussion; “Each of you should give what you
have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion
(obligation), for God loves a cheerful giver.”(NIV). For the most part I would
consider myself a deliberate and cheerful giver. Once in a while I lapse into a
second-guessing/double-minded sort of giver. But I do indeed most prefer to be
a “no strings attached”, unconditional, cheerful giving person and I derive the
greatest infectious sort of joy through that spirit of giving.
As a Christian I am a little conflicted by the whole “pay it
forward” way of thinking. Like karma, chain letters, guilt ploys, pyramid marketing schemes and religious
obligation I don’t like anything that smacks of the religious or of obligation.
“Paying it forward” can be that. But rather than dismiss the whole notion as
obligatory I have to admit that my faith indeed has embedded within it a “pay
it forward” essence. But there is one chief difference with what I have to “pay
forward”; I could never possibly pay “it” forward enough.
What I’m referring to, of course, is what Jesus did for me.
He paid the price for my life forward to eternity. It is up to me to accept the
gift of it – period - end of story – no pay back but this; If I truly am His,
my appreciation for what He has done should make me want to proclaim Him and
His glory to the world from the rooftops! And His gift was not and is not
random; it was and is personal and impossible for me to ever ruin or replicate.
Thanks be to God for His indescribable (indestructible) gift (2 Corinthians
9:15)!
He (Jesus) has instructed me and all who are Christians, all who are indeed HIS,
to “Love one another as I have loved you.” So, in a sense, I am a debtor to
“pay it forward” to all men and women who do not know Christ and His saving
grace with the good news of that mercy and grace – what He did for me!
But it doesn’t end there. There are the words of Jesus in
the Book of Matthew 25:40; “Truly I tell you, whatever you did
for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
That infers an above and beyond “pay it forward” toward humanity and that I should see JESUS in every needful human
condition and situation I encounter – just as he saw me in my needful state. That
should keep me busy.
So, as a Christian I have the ultimate “pay it
forward” on my account - and it is an honor to have it. It’s a commission really – a great commission. But
here’s a difference. No matter what I ever do Jesus loves me and will love me. And
He did something else. When I accepted His gift He filled me with His Spirit
Who gives me a capacity to endure and to love and to be wise and to have compassion
as He does. He gave me a new heart. The book of Ezekiel puts it this way;
Ezekiel 11:19 “I will give them an undivided heart and put a
new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them
a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit
in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of
flesh.”
So there is no obligation, only an ingrained “new-person”
capacity to unconditionally love and give as He loves and gives AND an
inclination to spontaneously share the joy that is in me with a single mind.
So, it is with this mind that I “pay it forward” daily with single-minded joy
and with limitless resource – God’s resource. Relaying on God’s abundance I am
never diminished in my giving and He renews me daily. I am challenged by this
because my flesh rises up in self-centeredness casting fears that in such giving abandon I may
empty myself unto my ruin. I know such fear is false.
With a new heart I am now inclined to be a cheerful,
spontaneous giver. As Proverbs 4:18 puts it, I am a work in progress,
yielding myself to His will and letting His love shine out through me; “The path of the righteous in like the morning sun, shining ever
brighter till the full light of day.”
The fried alternator that led to the actions of this woman
who loaned us her car that illuminated these principles to my mind and heart is
yet another proof that, as James 1:2-8 exhorts; “Consider
it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith
produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish
its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the
one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the
Lord. Such a person is double-minded and
unstable in all they do.” Romans 5:3-5 supports it this way; “ … we also glory
in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and
perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint,
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit
who was given to us.” (NKJV).
“Paying it forward” - with blessings,
Bill
P.S. I must admit, that Cadillac was one fine automobile.