Transactional Relationships
I remember one of my first brushes with real, significant wealth. I was a freshman in college at Southern Methodist University, which meant that I was wandering the streets and alleyways of some of the wealthiest people in Dallas. This brush didn’t happen while walking down a Park Cities street, however. Instead, it was in the parking lot behind my dorm building. I lived in Boaz Commons (pronounced like the speaker company and not the biblical character), which was right in the middle of campus. As such, the parking lot behind my dorm building was a coveted place to park a car, and was, therefore, heavily patrolled and permitted. SMU Parking Enforcement was never far away!
Imagine my surprise, then, when a Ferrari (not the exact one pictured, but something close!) appeared without parking permits and no handicap placard and placed itself in the reserved handicap parking space right next to the door of Boaz Commons! At the time, I considered myself a bit of a car enthusiast (a hobby I would eventually give up on after discovering the true joy of a bicycle), so the sight was very exciting. It became less exciting as the days went by and the little pieces of paper slowly accumulated on the windshield. After a week, the Ferrari vanished for the weekend only to return paper free, but still parked where it should not have been parked. Soon enough, it was full of tiny pieces of paper again.
The point of this story is not simply to complain about the audacity of this person to park their nice car wherever they wanted regardless of the consequences. Rather, I want to note that I was pretty jealous of this guy. What a life! What prestige! To not only drive a very nice, very expensive car, but to be able to park it wherever because the tickets were, essentially, just the cost of parking, was very enticing to young Tim. As I’ve grown up, however, I have come to see things a little differently.
One of the things that has shifted my thinking on this subject is the way the Bible talks about it. See, the Bible is full of examples of how God sees the world differently than we do. This seems especially true when it comes to our understanding of prestige and wealth. While we seem to have this unquenchable desire for more wealth, the stories in the Bible repeatedly caution us and encourage us to find fulfillment and wholeness in something much deeper than our wealth or position in social circles.
This Sunday, we’ll read a story of Jesus at a dinner table where he gives exactly this kind of caution. He chastises his fellow dinner guests for seeking to sit at a high place at the table lest they be embarrassed by being asked to move. Then, he turns and chastises his host, imploring him to invite those of lower social standing rather than those who could possibly repay him with another dinner party. The lesson is clear when we read closely: Jesus is calling both guests and hosts to let go of their transactional, wealth-seeking, prestige-seeking outlooks. Instead, they are encouraged to build relationships for the joy and love of connection, not for social improvement or greater wealth.
In our day and age, when so many of our connections can feel transactional, this seems like a timely and important scripture for us to hear. I look forward to looking at this story together in worship!
See you Sunday!
Grace and Peace,
Rev. Tim
