One on the Right, One on the Left

Matthew 20:21 - And he said to her, "What is it you want?" She replied, "Command that my sons will sit one on your right and one on your left in your kingdom."

As I wrote yesterday, she is using what power she has, what influence she has over Jesus to help her sons. Are her sons on board with this request? (spoiler alert: they are) Did she hear Jesus' parable about the last being first? Perhaps she feels like one of the last. It's easy to condemn her, but her actions here are typical of a mother in this situation.

I think, however, that her question reveals her humanity as well. We as human beings have a very difficult time accepting new ideas unless we can be assured we will be better off. It is a lot of hard work and is painful to work through changing our worldview, our way of being in the world, so completely as Jesus is asking his followers to do. A lot of soul-searching is required. In the 60s and 70s this was known as "finding ourselves." It's no less important today despite all the jokes made about navel gazing.

It seems James and John wanted a guarantee before they did any more of this work. I don't blame them - it's hard and painful. No one really wants to face the lies they were told. No one wants to go back and search through their life to see what they still believe and what makes no sense anymore. It's hard to realize your parents weren't perfect and didn't know everything. Yet, it's a mark of adulthood to know oneself in this way. Shakespeare had Polonius say it ironically, but it is nonetheless true - we must know ourselves. Do as Polonius says not as he does because he does not know himself.

James Baldwin called this work, "doing the first things over." Look over the lessons you've learned in your life. Which lessons are worth keeping? Which need discarding? Which need adjusting? Which need support? He was referring to white people and white supremacy, yet it is the same in following Christ. We must unlearn the things we believe that don't serve us well anymore. We must unlearn the things that don't serve others well. We must be in the world, but not of the world is a fancy way of saying be yourself. And to do that, we need to do our first things over.

We do great harm when we do not do this work. The harm is not just to ourselves but to others. James and John damaged their relationship to all the other followers of Christ because of their actions. In thinking they deserved to be at Jesus' right and his left, told all the other followers that James and John thought they were more special. They made fools of themselves, as do we, by thinking they deserved this. In the same way, we do harm to our own relationships and others as well. This is an illustration of the attitude that Jesus was preaching against. That preaching still holds today.
B

A Mother asks a Favor

Matthew 20:20 - Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him and, prostrating herself before him, she asked for something.

Am I right in thinking that anyone who asks Jesus for a favor is going to get some theology instead? I'm not talking about the healing. The fact that the word 'ti' is used signals she is asking for something not usually asked. Yet, even with healing or advice, they get theology too. I think this mother is going to get a dose of theology along with Jesus' answer. Everyone gets a side of theology.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. Usually when I read this passage, I enjoy the irony of the mother asking a favor so soon after Jesus has just informed them that the last will be first. However, today, I want to look at it from her point of view. In her context, she is a shrewd woman exercising power - at least, what little power she has - on behalf of her sons. It was acceptable in her day to do this for your sons. Bathsheba asks David to appoint her son as his heir. Sarah asks Abraham to banish Ishmael so her son could inherit. Rebekah intercedes for Jacob. In the Roman Empire as well, this was an accepted practice. James and John's mother was merely following examples from her own scriptures.

Women using their power on behalf of their son was accepted because it didn't threaten men's authority over women, didn't hurt men's feelings. There is a funny line in the original Wonder Woman comics in which Trevor tells Diana Prince to stay out of a mystery - let the police handle it. The blurb above the next cel tells us that Wonder Woman has no qualms about hurting the feelings of the police. Yet, even Wonder Woman uses her power primarily in service of Steve Trevor.

So, all this has got me thinking about women, agency, and power today. We in America continue to be suspicious of powerful women who wield their power for themselves or other women. Ambitious women. Women are still second-class citizens in many ways. So when Hillary runs for president, she got way more crap than even Obama did - from all quarters; Putin, Republicans, the FBI, even the media.

Hypatia of Alexandria encountered this same sadistic, relentless, misogynistic attitude in some of the Christian of her day - they ended up killing her for being too powerful. Gerraldine Ferrara, Maxine Waters, Congresswoman Wilson, Joan of Arc, Sor Juana, Margaret Sanger, Suffragettes, Miriam, Katherine of Aragon's sister, Gloria Steinem, Gertrude Stein, Audre Lorde, Betty Friedan, Sojourner Truth, Ida B Wells, Oprah Winfrey, and many, many more.

B

I'm Going to Die, Get Ready

Matthew 20:19 - "And they will hand him over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and scourged and crucified but on the third day he will be raised."

Of course 'they' refers to the Jewish authorities, the chief priests and scribes. And they will do this because Jesus is gaining a following and threatening their power. If they cannot control him, the Gentiles will kill them. Just like those in power do still. I'm specifically thinking of the Republicans and Russia vis-a-vis Hillary Clinton. McConnell, Ryan, Comey and Putin are modern day Romans, all of whom would gladly scourged and crucified her as well as mocking her if it were somehow legal. She's not a Christ figure, but the parallel with her large following threatened those in power in the same way as Jesus' large following did. People in power generally want to stay there. This particular bunch in the White House resembles the Jewish leaders in their zealousness to have Hillary defeated.

Of course 'Gentiles' here refers to the Roman Empire, who had their own reasons to crucify Christ. It's not put that way in the gospels, but Jesus was certainly a threat to Rome in the region and was executed for sedition. He claimed to be a king, after all. They were afraid he would lead people away from being "Good Roman Citizens." He was executed as an example to others.

So, he's letting them know for the third time a> what is going to happen and b> that he has accepted this. He doesn't like it, but there's no evidence he will fight back. He doesn't say so, but perhaps he doesn't want his disciples fighting it either. Remember how Peter turned on Jesus the first time he told them this. They probably still don't understand it, especially that bit about the third day being raised up, but they know enough not to question Jesus on this point.

Do they still think Jesus' kingdom will be an earthly kingdom? Do they think God is going to come down and help Jesus overthrow the yoke of the Roman Empire? Or are they just keeping quiet. Delores  S. Williams reminds us that "not all slaves were freed." Not everyone has a good outcome. Are they hoping for a better outcome than what they are imagining? Our imaginations are limited in comparison to God's own. Remember Moltmann - hope that we can see from where we are isn't hope, it's just a project. Hope requires that we cannot yet see the way from here to there. Paul makes this same point.

I digress. Jesus tells them this third time making it clear that this is going to happen while they are in Jerusalem. As I wrote earlier, he's preparing them for what will come next and for their lives after that. Jesus is always preparing, asking us to go further. If Jesus came down today and told you what would happen in the next week, what do you think he would say? I think I'll meditate on that today.
B

Up to Jerusalem

Matthew 20:18 - "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death,"

It ends with a comma so this is the beginning of what Jesus tells his most intimate disciples - including women. Have they already suspected that Jesus (and they) were in danger? Even so, this sounds almost as if Jesus welcomes death. If any of the people I care about were to tell me this, I would be crushed. It would be hard to hear; I might even try to talk them out of it. It would HURT. We in America tend to not want to talk about death for that reason. I like to joke with my spouse that he is not allowed to die. Of course, I know he will, it's a way of letting him know how much I love him and will miss him if he goes first.

So, Jesus is letting them know now so that they can talk about it, so that the shock will not be as great when it happens. It will still be a shock of course. When my dad died, he was sick for a year and a half. We all knew it was coming and had the chance to say our last goodbyes. It was still a shock. Jesus is letting his disciples know so that they can be as prepared as possible. Once it happens, they will be in danger as well.

This is another reason I think women were there. This is important information. This is where the rubber hits the road for them. If the twelve men needed to have this information, so did the women. As I wrote before, Jesus respected women as people. He wouldn't have stopped at that moment just because he was getting ready to die.
B

Detour from Matthew

All the writing  about women yesterday made me think of the #metoo meme. And it reminds me that women have to be exceptional to get anywhere or to be thought a person. Even then, women still he harassed, assaulted. Part of the problem is how we've interpreted the Bible for so many centuries. Authoritative, moral guide, God's word, literally. It's a recent phenomenon to look at it more critically. Literal interpretation leads to thinking that there were no women following Jesus instead of asking why they weren't mentioned? Because they were there.

It's not just the Bible, though. For centuries the West has glorified Greek philosophy. What does Greek philosophy say about women? That we are imperfect males. That's Aristotle. They didn't know about reproduction, yet that doesn't let them off the hook. Jesus saw women as people in spite of the attitude of society around him. Thomas Aquinas enshrined Aristotle's philosophy in his Summa Theologica. Based on these sources, women were considered "vain, petty, gossipy, ignorant, and useful for only one thing" as if men were not those things at all.

This make me think of Hypatia. She knew all this and was super respected during her lifetime for her knowledge and her political acumen. She taught men. How was she able to read all that crap about women and persevere? What makes any woman persevere? Did she have to think of herself as a man? Was she asexual? Hypatia, trans man? People claimed she wore the philosopher's tribon, which was men's clothing.

Which brings me to Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman, for all that it was feminist for its time (sort of), shows us how powerful women have to be in order to be respected. She is exceptionally wise, fast, strong and, of course, beautiful. That is always a requirement. Hypatia is always described as beautiful too. It's almost pornographic - they fall in love with her "beauty" as they imagine it to be. We have no pictures or writings from her so we don't really know. The interesting thing is, Hypatia died because she made waves. Cyril of Alexandria was involved somehow. It was parabalani, hospital workers, that killed her, but they were loyal to Cyril. Wonder Woman can't die for making waves. Indeed, she fights for America against Germany in the beginning. She's on our side, of course, she's okay. Just wait til she tries to speak up for women who are oppressed or abused. Then she'll be put in her place like so many before her.

Jesus and Women

Matthew 20:17 - While Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside and privately said to them on the way,

The fact that Jesus takes them aside reminds us that there were more than just the twelve who traveled with Jesus. It wasn't just men; women and children were there as well. Thus, the need for privacy with those he considered his intimate partners. So, the question that jumps out at me is, "were there any women privy to this conversation?" If not, why not?

We'll get into what he told them soon, but for now I want to consider this question on its own. Were there women there and Matthew chose not to credit them? What would it mean to have women there or to keep them out? Whatever he is telling them, it must be important because he pulls them out of the crowd. Excluding women from such important knowledge is radically unjust and unfair, then and now. They've been with him since the beginning and provided for him and his male disciples. I believe they were there.

However, it wouldn't surprise me if they weren't. Jesus is often called a feminist because he treated women as people with agency rather than possessions of some man. After Martha complained that her sister Mary was not helping get the meal ready, Jesus told her that Mary had chosen the better part. He spoke with the woman at the well alone and treated her as a person as well. Finally, he also treated the woman with the alabaster jar as a person with agency, praising her actions. If Jesus was a feminist, the gospel writers left most of the evidence out - perhaps they included what they thought they could get away with.

The society was patriarchal and that has had terrible consequences for women ever since. Of course, one consequence is that they were kept ignorant of politics and societal matters, not to mention uneducated. Sure, some were able to rise above those limitations, yet they were exceptional and had lots of male support. A case in point for this ignorance is VP Pence, who famously said he would not be alone in a room with a woman who was not his wife. I'm not sure how true that is, but it tells us a lot about Pence, none of them at all flattering. there are many implications for women's equality, one of which is keeping women from advancing in their careers.

This policy effectively shuts out women from important time with their boss, mentoring opportunities, and access to positions of power. It limits access to the corporate ladder to men. Maybe that's a feature not a bug. Pence thinks this makes him look like a good Christian man, yet this policy is sexist and misogynist. Evangelical Christians might praise this policy but the rest of us can see through his "piety" and think that he needs help if he has trouble being alone with a woman. Sounds like a personal problem. Even Jesus had private conversations with woman and managed to treat them like people.

So, I choose the think Christ had women in this meeting - Mary Magdala, Mary sister of Lazarus, Martha. Jesus may not have been a feminist, yet he respected women. It's time our society took our cue and followed suit. More on that tomorrow.
B

God's Priority

Matthew 20:16 - "Thus, those who are first will be last and those who are last will be first."

Jesus wraps up his parable by reiterating his point. This ties all the way back to the story of the rich man who chose his riches over attaining heaven. Jesus tells us that God is more generous that we can imagine. This is a God who makes sure everyone has enough. It is we who hoard and become resentful when people we think should be behind us are suddenly in front of us in the line for "rewards." We came up with a doctrine of everlasting punishment for those who treat us badly and/or don't do Christianity our way.

Jesus' God would not condone such a hell. If we find such a hell abhorrent and God is more generous than us, it stands to reason none exists. According to Moltmann, "The promise of the kingdom of God in which all things attain to right, to life, to peace, to freedom, and to truth, is not exclusive but inclusive. And so, too, its love, its neighbourliness and its sympathy are inclusive, excluding nothing, but embracing in hope everything wherein God will be all in all." (A Theology of Hope, p 224) God wants all Her children with her in the end. It is we who are divisive and judgmental. It is our hatred and disdain for others that breed strife and anger. As such, it is up to us to repent and resist those forces of violence in our world.

That strayed a bit from last and first. To recap what I've written: Being rich is actually a sin because no one in Jesus' time or our own gets rich without oppressing others. It's a stark reality and of course one with which rich people want nothing to do. Like the rich man in the story, they walk away. Slavery, wage theft, wages not enough to live on. Jesus spoke about all these things and they are still with us. Therefore rich people will have a difficult time getting into heaven.

In fact, God's heart is for the oppressed, the slaves, the poor who are kept poor by the actions of the rich. These will be paid the same as everyone else. Everyone will have enough because God's generosity extends to all things, especially the poorest among us.

I know who I want to be with as a follower of Jesus.
B

Generosity Redux

Matthew 20:15 - "Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious (is your eye wicked) because I am generous."

See, many people take the first sentence out of context and use it to mean we should not have minimum/living wage laws and other such bullshit. Of course, we are allowed to do what we want with our things within limits. This landowner had to pay taxes like everyone else. He is not railing against an unjust government's laws. No, he is in the middle of advocating generosity generosity rather than selfishness.

And this gives me an image of the laborers as white, cis-, het-, Christian men. They were in a position as virtual rulers and they expected more for their efforts than those "others." When those others (women, men of color, women of color, LGBTQ people, those with disabilities) started demanding equal rights, the pampered white men freaked out. There were losing their hold on power and their "rightful place" in society. Well, that was their thinking. It still is; they talk wistfully of a "simpler time" - meaning a time when those "others" were kept in their places.

And if the workers arriving first are the white men, the everyone else is those "others" who arrived later. Who knows why they arrived later? A sick child, traffic, medical emergency, stop to help someone on the way? So many reasons. The "final workers" of this world didn't and don't care. God cares. Jesus cares. God is here making a case for equality. So here's a litmus test: if someone claims to be a Christian, yet tries to take away health insurance (for example) from millings of their fellow Americans, they have wandered away from following Jesus and God, because Jesus's followers care, too.

The landowner then asks, "or is your eye wicked because I am generous?" Yes, the answer is yes. Anytime we are not joyful for someone receiving a blessing, we are going against Jesus. Rejoice with those who rejoice. Trump's being elected president is not a blessing. Blessings are life-giving and encourage human flourishing. They support the Christian hope rather than denigrate it. As Calvin wrote, (paraphrased) not only must we not do the prohibited actions in the Ten Commandments, but we must also do the opposite. Do not kill, but also encourage the flourishing of physical and spiritual life. Do not steal, but also build a society whose members do not need to steal just to eat. You get the idea.

In all areas of our lives, including business!, we are call to generosity and flourishing of life for all and especially the poor and downtrodden. It's a good reminder to check and see how we stand today.
B

Generosity

Matthew 20:14 - "Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give this last the same as you."

Again, the landowner is a picture of generosity that is lacking in current day American capitalism. Instead, we have divorced ethics from business and have promoted the myth that business is what drives America, instead of workers. In fact, we have turned 'empathy' into a dirty word in politics. I am reminded again about lament as a tool for ministry and activism. Things happen so fast with this administration and they are so corrupt that there is no time to lament as a country. Not that we would be able to get the country together. It is difficult to me to know how to respond to people who only think about what they can get out of their actions.

In contrast, we serve a God whose sole concern is for the poor and downtrodden. Those we normally ignore, like the man who tried to sell me cocaine on my walk yesterday morning. My first instinct was to avoid him and keep walking. I don't really know why I stopped and responded to his question. ... I'm glad I did though. Because God looks on that person with love and empathy. That man has a story; he did not wake up a coke dealer. God knows his story - Republicans seem not to care. Love, empathy, and generosity tend to be missing in our national discourse. I'd love to find a way to help bring them back. I'm reminded of Fred Rogers' story about his mother's advice, "Look for the helpers."

Look for those who care enough to be present with those who are suffering. Lament with those who lament, mourn with those who mourn.
B

Definitions of Justice

Matthew 20:13 - And he replied to one of them, "Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?"

Here we are getting into expectations. The workers understandably expected that everyone else would get less than they. And, it turns out that this understandable expectations was completely unrealistic. How often we get into the trap of assuming things about others. When we assume, we are setting ourselves up for our un/conscious expectations to be unfulfilled. Setting ourselves up for disappointment and hurt feelings.

Everyone does this - I do this. I'm not pointing the finger at people who do this. As I said, the workers' expectations were completely understandable. We expect fairness from employers in the same way we expect our friends to be supportive. My point is, rather, that it doesn't have to happen, if we are willing to do some soul searching, self searching so that we can recognize what our expectations about the world and about each other actually are. Only then can we think about whether these expectations are realistic. The same goes for our expectations of God.

All of us have expectations of God, whether we're aware of them or not. And one thing that we tend to expect from God, based on our readings of scripture, is that God is just, fair. Right? It's all over the bible. I am comfortable saying that expectation is not only understandable but also realistic. Yet, in the parable, it's the God figure that seems to be unfair. I think many of us, me included, read this passage the first time and were shocked at God's actions. Because we define justice differently than God does.

Have you ever been in a heated discussion or argument with someone and when all was said and done, it was merely a misunderstanding of how each of you defined a word or situation? That's what's happening here. The laborer (us) defines fairness and generosity differently than the landowner (God). This is implied in the landowner's answer to the grumbler, "Did you not agree with me for a denarius?" He reminds them of the terms they agreed to. Of all the workers, these hired first were the only workers told explicitly how much they would receive. The manager only told the later workers he'd give them "what was right (just)."

Just to God is everyone has enough to live. Just to us, in America, and maybe elsewhere is everyone gets what they earned. And here in America, we don't mandate that everyone get a just, living wage. In face, we actively prevent people of color from the flourishing that God desires for all of us, Her children. Slavery, redlining, suppressing the vote; the things I discussed earlier. We find it hard to believe that God could be so generous. Maybe because we are not. Yet, for a long time, the prevailing attitude was that God was angry and just itching for an excuse to send us to hell. Jonathan Edwards' sermon describing us as spiders hanging over the fires of hell by a thread describes this view perfectly.

Yet, Jesus is telling his disciples and us that that is not how it works. Our ideas of fairness and justice, because they are built on a foundation of an inherently unjust society, are wrong, wrong, wrong.

Sit with that for a moment. Lament that. For we can never get past this monstrous injustice until we lament, truly understanding the wrongs of our ancestors and how we have profited from the injustice inherent in the system.
B

Equality

Matthew 20:11-12 - When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner (God?) saying, "These last worked one hour, you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the burning heat."

I admit I would be a grumbler for sure. Even though I know better, I would still feel miffed. It really doesn't seem fair to those who worked all day. And the salient word here is 'seem.' As I talked about yesterday, in a just world this attitude would be fine. We do not live in a just world. It is important that we keep this fact always before us, if we are to lift up the poor and oppressed.

Again, this is all being told as an illustration of why rich people will have a hell of a time getting into heaven and why Jesus is serious about rich people selling all they have. The grumblers are not rich, but they nonetheless demonstrate the prevalent attitude in America - it's mine. I can hear them saying, "They got more than I did." It's a convenient attitude for rich, white men, who pit the lowest on the ladder against those just above them in order to prevent them from coming together against the rich.

This is the heart of our problem in America. The rich, white folks pit poor white people against ex-slaves in order to keep them from coming together against the rich. Republicans have been systematically doing this for decades. After slavery it was Jim Crow laws and voter suppression. Then it became extreme bias in sentencing people to prison and disenfranchising them after they get out. That continues and now we have voter suppression again on top of that. Gerrymandering too looks like it might be here to stay, so Republicans can safely ignore their constituents without being voted out of office.

Yet, the landowner as God reminds us that our thinking is turned upside down from God's thinking. As the grumblers' said, "You made us equal.' They clearly did not see it that way. God is shown as a loving vineyard owner who chooses to be generous to all Her children, all of us. Even that person you can't stand, even the thief who stole, even Republicans.

It truly is impossible to serve both God and money. For in serving money, we stand against our fellow human beings. So our question to ask ourselves is where do we come down on this issue and why? Are we following God's way or our society's way?
B

Living Wage

Matthew 20:10 - And when the first came, they supposed they would get more (than a denarius), but each of them also received a denarius.

I suspect most of us would suppose so. I wrote yesterday about them going so far as to make plans. It is fair to us that everyone receives wages proportionate to the work they have done. After all, Paul wrote that "those who don't work should not eat." In a perfectly just society, we might be able to suppose such.

The catch is that we live here on earth in the age of shitty Republicans who care nothing about their fellow citizens - or even other people. Demonizing people of color, Democrats, and women; working to get rid of our health insurance; fighting for tax cuts for rich people at the expense of poor people; working to rob people of their voting rights - voter suppression; resisting any sensible gun laws, even when faced again and again with mass shootings that could have been avoided. I could go on. The point is we don't live in anything close to a just society. We live in a society in which Black people and poor people are systematically kept down.

So, we cannot say with Paul that those who don't work, don't eat. In our current climate, that would be unjust - our world is made to benefit rich, white men. If your name doesn't sound white on your resume, your chances of finding meaningful employment are slimmer than a white person's chances. If your name sounds Black, Latinx, or Asian, your chances of buying a house in a good neighborhood are also slimmer than a white person's - if you have a chance at all. These are facts.

More facts, this situation leaves disabled and chronically ill people at a sever disadvantage. In order to get Medic-aid, one needs to divest all their assets. We systematically keep disabled and chronically ill people out of the work force when we can, in the name of the "Almighty Dollar." I say 'we,' but it's been Republicans doing this for at least three decades. They like to pretend that we live in a just society and that all things are equal. This lets them pretend that people who are poor are just lazy. Remember, not all things are equal.

On of the more interesting ideas I've heard to help this situation is a minimum income for everyone - even rich people. Even you. A living wage. Our economy is (was?) losing manufacturing jobs and there are many people who are unemployed. If all these people had enough to live on, there would be even more money  circulating in our economy. Everyone would benefit. This is what is happening in this parable! God is giving everyone enough to live on. Does that make you uncomfortable? If so, follow up on that. It's a good question to ask yourself.

God gives everyone a living wage; so should we, especially disabled and chronically ill people, we have enough trouble just getting through the day.
B

A Day's Wages

Matthew 20:8 - And when those hired at the eleventh hour (literally: those of about the eleventh hour) came, they each received a denarius.

A denarius, as I probably said, was the usual daily wage for working 12 hours - from dawn to dusk-ish. Imagine being one of those workers! They had hit the jackpot. These day laborers - all of them in line - were people so poor they had no land of their own. The Levitical Law spelled out how Israel was to care for the poor people among them. At the end of seven years, everyone was to get their ancestral land back. No one was to go hungry - farmers were required to leave the edges of their fields unharvested so people with no land could have food. It's hard to say whether these laws were followed or enforced (probably not for long). In any case, those laws were irrelevant because the Roman Empire had stolen the land. It's not inconceivable that these day laborers had been better off before. It's not a certainty, but it's not inconceivable.

Back to getting paid. Keep in mind this payment process was done in full view of all the day laborers and the guards who kept watch over the money. The workers were given actual coins. Everyone would see how much each person was getting. They could see the joy and surprise on the faces of the eleventh hour workers. Imagine being a worker hired first. What would we think about our own wages for the day? I don't like to admit that I'd begin making plans for the extra money. Because that's how I am - a little greedy. Yet, I am solidly middle-class. Their dreams for that extra money would include paying back creditors and feeding their children a more nourishing meal than usual. They were not thinking of luxuries, but survival.

So the question becomes how I relate to these laborers. Am I sympathetic? Am I one of them? If I thought I was going to get a little extra money, how would I want to spend it? For myself? My family? My possessions - maintaining my house? For others who are struggling? We all have reasons for how we spend our money. It's always a good time to reflect on our relationship to money and our reasons for spending it as we do. Not to mention, being grateful for what we do have. Because so many others have less.
B