This question was the basis for a discussion that my adviser and I had while sitting at a corner table in a small restaurant in the mountain town of Magdalena, Guatemala. Dr. Dunkley claimed that our society was in the process of “sterilizing” its members. As the conversation went on, I slowly began to see what he meant. We were being exposed to so much sickness, labor, and overall poverty in Guatemala. We couldn’t help but contrast it to our homeland. As Dr. D reminded me, in our comfortable American middle class society, we do not have to feel hot if we don’t want to. We can switch on the air conditioning and be comfortable. If it is winter and we are cold, we simply turn on the heat. We have the means to keep the cold food cold and the hot food hot, and can even purchase it ready to eat. We can't even wait for someone to make us a decent meal, so we populate fast food restaurants. We demand entertainment- someone to make us laugh, someone to keep us enthralled, whether in our classes, sermons, or relaxation. We can’t do it by ourselves anymore. We can’t feel depressed so we alter our neurotransmitters so that we can feel happy. We buy on credit because we want to want something. We want to have something, and we want it now.
What would it be like to wait for something? Would that make its presence more valuable? What would it be like to work for something? No, not just to put in your time, but to actually sweat and go without? What would it be like to experience joy after a season of depression?
Some know the answers to those questions, some hope they never have to, so they keep on sterilizing their lives. It’s not their fault, really. It’s the way things are.
Or is it?
Our Guatemalan friends are so happy, despite their poverty. They value what little possessions they have, but they welcome strangers into their homes with joy and give freely.
They are in the opposite of a sterile environment. There are police with machine guns in front of their shops. There are bacteria and parasites in their water. They must often wait for basic things, like education or milk. But they do not wait for the important things: they take time to smile and laugh and love.
I like being comfortable, but I also want to feel. May I be willing to leave my sterile bubble, dear Lord.
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13
