It did not take me long to ascertain that there are quite a few folks in Pakistan looking for work. That's what they call "situational awareness."
So that keen insight met up with a sort of double indemnity moral obligation that I feel quite deeply every day: First, it is by the grace of God that I have anything at all; second, it is by the hard work of U.S. taxpayers that I have a job.
Thus I found myself praying for God's will regarding how I might serve a community that is nearly impossible for me to interact with in a normal way. It was strange to me that what I felt in response was to hire help.
I'm an Idaho boy. I wasn't raised on a farm or anything but still, growing up in Idaho unavoidably brings certain guilts, such as the shame of not being able to cook one's own food and wash one's own laundry. Second, it seemed selfish, not unselfish to hire household staff (especially with Katie suffering as a single mom). Right?
But it was what I felt. Sure I can do my own laundry (at which point Katie rolls her eyes and thinks, Prove it!). But there are a lot of street beggars in Islamabad; a lot of homeless folks; a lot of people looking for work. And then I had a new and strange insight about the morality of being frugal and the economics of so-called self-reliance. Cheap is the greedy version of thrifty.
"They did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all (Alma 1:30)." I had previously been inclined to perceive the hiring of household staff as having one's heart set upon riches. Now I see that it is quite the opposite. If my heart is set upon riches, I will not be liberal to all but will retain my riches and perform these tasks myself, selfishly. My heart is not set upon riches and therefore, within the bounds of prudence, I should liberally purchase the goods and services of all.
I hired the president of the local LDS branch and his wife as housekeeper and cook. At first it was a cultural adventure. I gave instructions that I thought were super specific only to learn that mopping is not intuitive to someone with a dirt floor. And it was a little weird the first morning when they brought me a bowl of Cheerios with warm milk.
In due time they figured out the cultural quirks of persnickety Americans. I found them others to work for in the diplomatic community to increase their income and enable continuity of work upon my departure. I coached them in dealing with their other bosses. And we became friends.
They have suffered much. I cannot tell their stories here for they are not mine to tell. My life is easy. In their eyes, I am wealthy beyond measure. Yet I allow myself to feel poor. How foolish of me.
So that keen insight met up with a sort of double indemnity moral obligation that I feel quite deeply every day: First, it is by the grace of God that I have anything at all; second, it is by the hard work of U.S. taxpayers that I have a job.
Thus I found myself praying for God's will regarding how I might serve a community that is nearly impossible for me to interact with in a normal way. It was strange to me that what I felt in response was to hire help.
I'm an Idaho boy. I wasn't raised on a farm or anything but still, growing up in Idaho unavoidably brings certain guilts, such as the shame of not being able to cook one's own food and wash one's own laundry. Second, it seemed selfish, not unselfish to hire household staff (especially with Katie suffering as a single mom). Right?
But it was what I felt. Sure I can do my own laundry (at which point Katie rolls her eyes and thinks, Prove it!). But there are a lot of street beggars in Islamabad; a lot of homeless folks; a lot of people looking for work. And then I had a new and strange insight about the morality of being frugal and the economics of so-called self-reliance. Cheap is the greedy version of thrifty.
"They did not set their hearts upon riches; therefore they were liberal to all (Alma 1:30)." I had previously been inclined to perceive the hiring of household staff as having one's heart set upon riches. Now I see that it is quite the opposite. If my heart is set upon riches, I will not be liberal to all but will retain my riches and perform these tasks myself, selfishly. My heart is not set upon riches and therefore, within the bounds of prudence, I should liberally purchase the goods and services of all.
I hired the president of the local LDS branch and his wife as housekeeper and cook. At first it was a cultural adventure. I gave instructions that I thought were super specific only to learn that mopping is not intuitive to someone with a dirt floor. And it was a little weird the first morning when they brought me a bowl of Cheerios with warm milk.
In due time they figured out the cultural quirks of persnickety Americans. I found them others to work for in the diplomatic community to increase their income and enable continuity of work upon my departure. I coached them in dealing with their other bosses. And we became friends.
They have suffered much. I cannot tell their stories here for they are not mine to tell. My life is easy. In their eyes, I am wealthy beyond measure. Yet I allow myself to feel poor. How foolish of me.
2 comments:
Tim, thanks for posting your thoughts and stories like this. Very insightful. And very relevant to me. I often feel "poor". In reality, the mere fact that I live in the U.S. probably means that I'm the 1% - at least in the world.
Thanks for the note, Brandon. You are correct. When you look globally, just about everyone is the U.S. is the "one percent."
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