Fall 2008Dear Friends,
It seems that everything costs more these days. Everything from bread to cheese, fruit and veggies to meat and milk costs more than it did just a few weeks ago. I found myself complaining about high prices, but quickly repented of my complaining attitude.
There are many reasons why prices increase: the cost of higher wages is passed on to every consumer. Using corn for fuel means less for food and therefore, higher prices for anything containing corn, corn syrup, corn starch, and a host of other related corn products. Higher fuel prices equal higher costs to get products to market; those costs are passed on.
But this is not an economics lesson, but rather a look at my own heart. Why am I complaining? We are retired on a fixed income, but the Lord has graciously supplied all our needs. We have not missed a meal. We have a great family, lovely home, comfortable clothing, friends, a wonderful church; we are blessed!
Let’s try to put things in perspective. My parents grew up during the Great Depression and lived through World War II when food was rationed. Butter, eggs, meat, sugar, and many other basics were rationed for several years during the war. Shortages were a way of life; you did not know when you went to the store if you would be able to find everything you needed. Long lines were common as people waited for basic commodities.
Here are just a few of the ration books and stamps my father and grandparents saved from World War II.
Can you imagine what would happen today if just one item was in short supply? If eggs, or sugar suddenly became difficult to find, or if the government announced that families would be limited to a small amount of these each month, what would happen? I doubt it would result in the patient understanding my parents showed in the 1940’s, or the sense of shared sacrifice to help achieve victory in the war, or the thrift and resourcefulness housewives displayed as they learned to make do without the basics we take so for granted! No, I fear most people would complain loud and long.
But my parents and grandparents had a different perspective than we do today. When they were young, many things we take for granted were not so readily available. Eggs were not always plentiful year round. Hens laid fewer eggs during the winter; there was not the mass production of eggs we have today. So, eggs were gathered during the warmer months and stored in sawdust in the cellar, sometimes wrapped in paper, or coated with oil to make the shells less porous. A liquid known as “water glass” was available at pharmacies and housewives submerged eggs in that to help preserve them. But the day inevitably came when there were no eggs left at home and families patiently did without them for a time.
How different today: we expect not only eggs to be there whenever we need them, but a vast array of prepared foods, ready in seconds and handed out from a drive-thru window into our car! We can have a meal served up “our way” 24/7 in most cases.
And yet, we complain. Our Lord says, “Do all things without complaining.” (Philippians 2:14) Hmm, everything… that would include filling up the gas tank, paying for the groceries, cutting back on some things… without complaining. In fact, we are admonished, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) Not only are we not to complain, but we are supposed to give thanks.
We all need to step back and gain some perspective, and most importantly, teach that to our children who have grown up in a world expecting everything is not only available, but instantly available whenever they want it. Talk to parents, grandparents and great-grandparents and ask how they made meals when food was rationed, how they sewed clothing for the entire family – by hand, as my grandmother did. We could all benefit from some history and economics lessons from the past.
High prices? What a good opportunity to teach our children thrift, hard work, resourcefulness, the value of a dollar, and the importance of tithing and saving. Can’t afford some things the kids want? Another opportunity: teach patience, long-suffering, gentleness, and shared sacrifice. Tired of hearing about greed in high places? Demonstrate contentment with what you have within your own family. Much of what is happening in our economy today provides ideal opportunities to teach Christian character and Godly principles.
The high cost of food? Gas? Instead, we should be asking ourselves about the high cost of complaining. Read Exodus and Numbers and review with your family how often the children of Israel complained after leaving the bondage of Egypt. They complained about the water, they complained about the food, they complained about the leadership… and it cost them dearly. They never entered the Promised Land, but spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness until that generation died. That was a high price indeed to pay for their ungrateful complaining.
Let’s start today, in our own families, being a grateful, not a complaining, people. Let’s “walk the walk” and rather than complain about high prices, give thanks for the abundance that we have. What a witness that would be in our world today!
Until next time ~
Yours in Him,
Copyright, 2008, Laurie Latour.
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