In trying to get to grips with the statement "All the money's gone to heaven", I realized that a lot of people around the globe would agree with one stockbroker's new perspective on life, politics, the economy and God. As he was relating the story of his nephew, Conrad Schwalbe, I found myself wondering how someone with a Phd in economics and a long history of trading in the most spohisticated markets in the world comes to a place of joining the "spiritualpreneurs" movement.
Suprisingly, the weekend forum launched to align Love In Action projects and partnerships with the overall vision of this charity organisation provided more answers than the latest musings of stockbrokers-turned-spiritualpreneurs. But before I get to the insight gleaned from the forum, let me start by relating the plight of Conrad Scwalbe and the awareness it has raised amongst his family members, friends and churchgoers .
Conrad is a U.S Marine in Iraq. He spends his days searching for weapons and clearing houses in Ramadi. Aside from never knowing whether the house he's going to walk into is boob-trapped, there are other occupational hazards: frequently missing meals, staying up for more than a day at a time, going for a week without a shower and getting woken up at night by the sound of mortatr and gunfire.
My intention here is not to have a discussion about the war in Iraq. The message in a story like this is that it is impossible to simultaneously experience gratitude and misery.
George Orwell once said that if one sleeps peacefully at night, it is because there are people who stand ready to do violence on our behalf. If you have nothing more than good health and the love of your family, you have a lot to be grateful for. I don't think anyone would readily join Conrad on his mission and regardless of one's political convoctions, I think most people are quite releived that there are people like Conrad willing to go onto the battlefield in times of war.
Feelings and attitudes do a lot to change one's perspective. As spiritual coach Sharon Wilson pointed out last week, feelings and attitudes shape our beliefs and these in turn direct many of our actions. You can't act from a place of gratitude until you really believe you have a lot to be grateful for and you can't really believe this until you imagine the life of someone like Conrad Scwalbe.
At the Love In Action forum this weekend, the pastor's wife reminded us that a charity depends on the generosity of volunteers and partners to attain its goals. It is extremely difficult for people to see that generosity brings "rewards in heaven" when they are struggling day to day with ongoing obstacles and challenges. So it was wonderful to listen to those who choose generosity in the face of many difficulties sharing their dreams and vision for various projects. I walked away from the forum wondering how to translate all this into practical income-generating activities and decided the best way to tap into creative strategies would be to apply Sharon's formula : Feeling-Belief-Action.
I was feeling very generous and grateful for everything I have been blessed with as I tuned in to listen to a leading stockbroker being interviewed in church. I figured the day we can all comfortably sit and listen to a stockbroker preaching "You aren't truly free until you are financially free" is the day charities like Love In Action will change the face of the war in Iraq and the day people like Conrad Schwalbe will go out onto the mental battlefield to clear houses of poverty. I wasn't quite sure whether this is a good thing for The Church or not until the host of the show asked the stockbroker : "But where has all the money that was there before the financial crisis gone?" .When he answered " Pastor, all the money's gone to heaven", I knew in that one instant that the only thing charities like Love In Action need to do to generate income is ask God to send it back down from heaven. If you beleieve it, you can act on this understanding to change situations of poverty and who knows, maybe even situations like the ones Conrad faces every day in Iraq.
Acknowledgements: You can learn more about Spiritual Wealth at www.spiritualwealth.com and about the "spiritualpreneurs" phenomenon at www.coachingfromspirit.com.
Love In Action is an evangelical Christian charity that we have partnered with and does not necessarily share the viewpoints posted on this blog. The photograph of the forum was picked with their consent to promote their work amongst readers in Southern Africa, as they do not yet have their own website. For information about projects please e-mail : loveinactionlesotho@gmail.com.
