"Paying it forward"

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.