It seems that the only true refuge is in peace itself.

We can choose to be at peace with what is.

And that kind of living, peaceful living, I think, is the answer.

I let go of the thing to which I cannot cling and properly cherish in the finite moment.

And in so doing I trust that it is sealed to me by the forsaking.

This is the key by which love binds all things to itself.

And so the meek inherit the earth,

Not by means, nor by conquest,

But by letting go.

Now and then I scheme, I plan, I project.

My mind goes off in this direction or that.

It's a natural impulse. But action is better.

Action is the faith part of it.

When I plan, I show that I don't fully trust the unseen benevolent hand

To go before my face and prepare the way.

I am leery of any strategy that requires no repentance.

If you think that you are getting providence on your side by scheming better,

By being more shrewd,

By working harder,

By learning skills,

Then it is possible, perhaps likely, that you are deceived.

Remember that God rains upon the just and the unjust.

And so, receiving a blessing from God

Does not show that you serve him.

And who knows but what you serve a lower power.

Especially if the God you serve requires no repentance.

This is the beggar's bowl

The weekly edition of my podcast

Wherein I highlight one economic principle of the new life

And beg for spare change.

I've thought about this for years

But it may be an idea whose time has come.

Here it is:

What if the goal was not to get ahead

Instead, what if we tried for zero?

Here's what I mean.

Transportation: the second largest expense for modern families.

And I am not a fix-it-man. Perhaps you are not either.

And so a vehicle is a hole to put our money in.

So what if, instead of buying a car and nursing it along, I buy a car each quarter?

The State I'm in will allow me to sell four cars per year without a dealership license,

So, I buy a car, and then next quarter, I buy another car.

Now I have a spare. 

But I put the first car up for sale before it needs repairs.

When it sells, I don't try to make a profit, though that would be ok.

I simply try to make at least as much as I paid for it.

And then I do it all again, four sales per year.

And if I am careful to find good deals,

I could even eliminate my fuel costs

By charging a few hundred dollars more than what I paid.

Remember, I am not in the car business.

I have more important things to do.

But selling a car each quarter wouldn't be too bad,

And it could completely eliminate my transportation costs.

More likely than not, I would grow wise in choosing cars

And eventually, come out ahead.

And if my family needed it, I could spend the profit on them.

Or God may have a different plan for the increase.

If so, then it would still work out for my benefit,

Since to serve him is to lay up future rewards.

And whether they come in this life or the next,

I come out ahead.

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If you desire a house that they cannot take away, try this:

Get rid of all you do not use and cherish.

And get a good feeling for your base.

For me, it is a mat on the floor

And a backpack,

Not the hiking kind,

Just big enough to fit my life inside.

Then live as if you might just leave tomorrow.

That kind of living is just like normal living

But with less attachment.

And then wait upon the voice that says to leave

Trusting that wherever it may lead

There is a place for you.

There is another way of looking at the problem of the poor, or any problem really.

Most of us believe that we must do something.

And there is a place for that.

But often, the appropriate response is to do nothing,

To get out of the way as people grapple with their problems.

I will use the poor to illustrate, and housing.

We get in the way of simple housing.

But we don't have to.

A poor person will erect a shack if you let him.

And a shack is the perfect solution for most,

Especially nowadays.

A person can erect a shack without relying upon the state,

Without depending upon anyone but him or herself.

And there is a huge sense of accomplishment that comes with that, and security.

It is a win of monumental proportions for the man or woman that's in need.

But there's a problem.

Nobody wants the shack to be on their property,

Even if they are not using the property.

And there is another problem.

There is no property that is not claimed by somebody.

But what if we got out of people's way?

Instead of throwing money at the problem of the homeless,

What if we let them erect their shacks?

It's rare that they would try to do it on your lawn.

They would probably find a little place on an abandoned lot.

And if you own that lot, do you have to chase them away?

Perhaps you could even welcome them as a neighbor.

Perhaps you could be their friend

In the same way that you might befriend the bird

That builds its nest in your barn.

And what if the neighbors

Instead of passing laws against shacks

Were to say that it's ok?

What if we were to just get out of each other's way?

I know that this idea turns the world upside down.

We have all been striving toward the accumulation and protection of our property

For as long as history has been recorded.

But it doesn't have to be this way. 

It's a new idea for a new age.

And when we embrace it, the world will change.

When we embrace it...the world will change.

Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left... Isa 5:8 NIV

An idea for the Real-Estate investor:

Why not, now and then shed it all

To the benefit of the simple

And start again.

Several times, I have seen an ad.

The investor in the ad

Boasts of how The Discovery Channel

Challenged him to remake his fortune

In a new city with no credit, no contacts, no money, no lifelines.

They gave him 90 days. Or was it 30? I don't remember.

And he did it. Isn't that amazing?!

At the end of the challenge,

He had a five-million-dollar business, or was it 15?

I can't remember. 

Now, what if he had then liquidated that business,

Stripped himself down to nothing,

Lived a few days or weeks with the poor,

And then did it all again?

But instead of storing the money he earned in the bank,

What if he had then used that five or fifteen million

To purchase super simple, mortgage-free, homes

For people who either don't have a place to live,

Or who desire to exit the housing racket

And live within their means.

Of course, to do such a thing, he would have to accept

That he is putting himself out of a job.

For, sooner or later, such an idea

Would bring down the market.

It would change the culture.

It would rock the world.

Halleluja!!!

The furniture belongs to the house.

Remember that.

It does not belong to you.

Isn't that a load off your mind?

So much less to carry when it's time to go.

Or you can lug it along I suppose.

But I love to leave with little more than myself

And trust that the things I need will come.

How is it that the first will be last and the last shall be first?

Is it a universal principle?

And to what does it apply?

I think I see an application in the stories that we tell.