rainmaker
We all need to eat. In times past, the overwhelmingly dominant economic sector was agriculture. Most people were farmers. For farmers, weather is very important. My job is a computer programmer, so for me a rainy day means that I need to carry an umbrella. But for farmers, rainfall is an indicator of their economic well-being.
But who can control or predict the rain? Almost every culture has prayers, rituals, sacrifices, and feasts relating to rain.
I remember watching an episode of X-files that included a character who had a paranormal ability related to rain. Wherever this man went, rain would follow him. It did not take long for this man to monetize his ability as a rainmaker. He would seek out people whose region was desperately afflicted by drought and charge them a colossal fee. In exchange for the fee, this man, this rainmaker, would show up, do a little rain-dance act, and the rain would come down.
Today our economy is very specialized and diversified. Most of us are not farmers, and our fortunes are not tied directly to rain. But still we search for people and insight to bring prosperity to the land.
Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, as been described as a rainmaker. And if you have read at all about the current state of banking, financing, and home mortgages, you know that the world is desperately seeking people and answers to end the recession.
So how do lessons learned about rain apply today's economy?
One of the unusual instances of rain in the bible is when bread, called manna, rained down from the sky. Normally, we plant wheat seeds in the ground, wait a few months for normal water rain to come down and help the wheat plants grow, harvest the wheat, thresh the wheat seeds, grind the wheat seeds into flour, mix dough from the flour, and bake the bread. This manna thing was much faster. The bread would come down from the sky, and all you had to do was pick up the bread and eat it. It sounds kind of like how fast food works today.
What happened though was that after a while, this free, easily available, fast food was not good enough for the Israelites who received it. They were offended that the only food available to them was manna, and they complained vehemently. Today, sometimes we in the US lose our perspective and forget to be grateful for what we have. Even the bad times in the US are better than the good times in places where people struggle against starvation and lack of clean water.
Another lesson was taught by Jesus. He said that the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous. The point Jesus was making was that God loves everyone, even the people who don't love Him back, and if we want to follow the way of God, we should love people who don't love us back.
What can happen though is that we can get sucked in to a mentality where we believe that the size of our bank account is a measure of how much God loves us or how good we are. Even worse is when we start applying that mentality to other people. We live in a culture that says if you have lots of money you are awesome, and if you do not you suck. Yes, there are times when God blesses us with money, but God's love is not about money.
Finally, it is important to not get too caught up in the pursuit of rain. James 5:17-18 says that Elijah prayed, and it did not rain for 3 and a half years. Then Elijah prayed again, and rain came. Prayer is more important than rain.
But who can control or predict the rain? Almost every culture has prayers, rituals, sacrifices, and feasts relating to rain.
I remember watching an episode of X-files that included a character who had a paranormal ability related to rain. Wherever this man went, rain would follow him. It did not take long for this man to monetize his ability as a rainmaker. He would seek out people whose region was desperately afflicted by drought and charge them a colossal fee. In exchange for the fee, this man, this rainmaker, would show up, do a little rain-dance act, and the rain would come down.
Today our economy is very specialized and diversified. Most of us are not farmers, and our fortunes are not tied directly to rain. But still we search for people and insight to bring prosperity to the land.
Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple, as been described as a rainmaker. And if you have read at all about the current state of banking, financing, and home mortgages, you know that the world is desperately seeking people and answers to end the recession.
So how do lessons learned about rain apply today's economy?
One of the unusual instances of rain in the bible is when bread, called manna, rained down from the sky. Normally, we plant wheat seeds in the ground, wait a few months for normal water rain to come down and help the wheat plants grow, harvest the wheat, thresh the wheat seeds, grind the wheat seeds into flour, mix dough from the flour, and bake the bread. This manna thing was much faster. The bread would come down from the sky, and all you had to do was pick up the bread and eat it. It sounds kind of like how fast food works today.
What happened though was that after a while, this free, easily available, fast food was not good enough for the Israelites who received it. They were offended that the only food available to them was manna, and they complained vehemently. Today, sometimes we in the US lose our perspective and forget to be grateful for what we have. Even the bad times in the US are better than the good times in places where people struggle against starvation and lack of clean water.
Another lesson was taught by Jesus. He said that the rain falls on both the righteous and the unrighteous. The point Jesus was making was that God loves everyone, even the people who don't love Him back, and if we want to follow the way of God, we should love people who don't love us back.
What can happen though is that we can get sucked in to a mentality where we believe that the size of our bank account is a measure of how much God loves us or how good we are. Even worse is when we start applying that mentality to other people. We live in a culture that says if you have lots of money you are awesome, and if you do not you suck. Yes, there are times when God blesses us with money, but God's love is not about money.
Finally, it is important to not get too caught up in the pursuit of rain. James 5:17-18 says that Elijah prayed, and it did not rain for 3 and a half years. Then Elijah prayed again, and rain came. Prayer is more important than rain.
posted by Aaron at 9:43 AM
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