Finding joy in a material world

I am still in Utah, dealing with fixing-up and renting our home. Although we have a beautiful home in Utah, and although it served us well as Terri and I raised our children, now it seems as though it is just a burden--just something that is keeping me from being with Terri and away from Tinian.

I have always found material things to be as much a burden as a blessing--a necessary evil. Perhaps because I am a child of the sixties, when there was a great movement and rebellion against materialism... But then again, I have never felt as though I wanted to be a monk either: the blessings of having enough money to own a home and raise a family outweighed the problems that came with those things. Perhaps it all comes back to a moderation in all things, even in the material things of life.

There is a woman living on Tinian who has dedicated her life to serving others--a very noble and honored ideal. However, she, as well as the monks who have dedicated their lives to prayer, or anyone who has given up 'material' things to serve God or man still have to live. They still have to eat, have shelter, be healed when sick, etc. Who pays for those material gifts? If the person doesn't have the means, they must be given the means by others--others must work and concern themselves with 'material' things in order to give them the means by which they can serve others... Which is why there needs to be a ballance.

I have always admired and loved the doctrine taught by Buddha. It is a gentle and soul-satisfying doctrine. However, I believe he erred when he insisted that monks do no work and beg for their living--this did not solve the problems of dealing with material things, it simply passed the problem to others. If everyone was like the monks and begged for their food instead of working, who would grow the food to eat? You can see the problem.

That is why, in spite of how we might feel about the nobility of monks and those who give up their lives in service, that nobility needs to extend to all who aid them! They couldn't live and serve as they do without someone meeting their earthly needs. It is also why, in spite of how often money and material things bring problems into our lives, there is a nobility given to all who work (God commanded men to earn a living by the sweat of their brow). By working and becoming independent, and eventually earning enough to raise families and help others, we receive great blessings. Our independence gives us confidence and self-worth, our work blesses our family and others, and instead of being a burden to others, we are in a possition to lift and bless others.

So which is more noble? The monk who does good works, but must be fed and clothed by others; or the working man who supports the monk? Interesting...

Meanwhile... I continue to slave away in Utah, wishing I was back on Tinian with Terri. Such is life...