pelit

Lately I have been thinking about the word pelit. I actually learned this word a few months ago towards the end of last school year.

“Miss Irissss!!!” I heard one day while my children were coloring in their phonics workbooks. “Gerald is pelit, he is pelit!!!” The children were absolutely frantic.  I had no idea what the word meant, so I had to ask them to clarify. 

“Ummm…what does pelit mean?”

“Sharing! Sharing!” the accusers shouted.

It still wasn’t making sense to me so I had to ask, “Isn’t that a good thing?”

“NO! Not sharing, he’s not sharing!”  

I had to laugh at the situation, and then remind Gerald - then 4 years old and a K1 - that he had to share.  Now that Gerald is 5 years old and now a K2 and now hopefully knows that he should share, I find myself thinking about the purpose behind it.  Why should we share? 

Today I was reading through 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 on “Encouragement to Give Generously” and “The Cheerful Giver.” 

Right now as a single adult, it’s really easy to stay zoned in on my own life.  Right now, my earning capacity is solely for me.  I have found that it’s easy to become more stingy with my financial resources as I have more, ironically - saving it up for some sort of proverbial nest egg, but I do admit that there isn’t really a nest right now haha. 

One thing I have been feeling particularly convicted about is stinginess in other areas of my life: time, investment into relationships, talent.  The past couple of months, it has been easy to feel particularly stretched because of the +/- hour commute into Jakarta everyday and back.  It’s not easy going to bed late(r than I intend to) and waking up early to go to school the next day. 

Also, it has been easy in the realm of relationships to only let people in so much.  I’m willing to get into their lives, but how much am I really willing to let them into mine?  Partially because of this pattern of years of thinking, “If they knew, maybe they’d run…”

I have also had this mindset of getting my worth from what I have accomplished or done - which, to be honest in the past few years, in terms of measurable/quantitative perspectives, it’s not much.  I used to dance as a kid and quit that for sports in middle school.  Tried to juggle sports and music in high school, and quit everything once I got to university where I realized I was just your average kid.  And I’d never seen myself as that.  I didn’t realize how insecure I was until I moved here, where all titles and accomplishments have pretty much been stripped away just from the mere fact that this place - although my home - is still so new. 

One thing I have taken up recently is running (ahem, and by that I mean jogging haha) and one of my favorite in-the-zone songs is “Forever Reign,” by Casting Crowns and the chorus goes like this:

Oh, I’m running to your arms/I’m running to your arms

The riches of your love will always be enough

Nothing compares to your embrace

Light of the word, Forever Reign

I love the allusion to running while I’m running.  But I also love the reminder about the riches of God’s love and grace through his son Jesus Christ.  Here are some more words from the good book about God’s grace:

“And God is able to make all grace about to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work…” (2 Cor 9:8)

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”  2 Cor 9:10-11)

Going on year three here in Indonesia, and I have realized that it is easy to become pelit when you serve out of your own strength and resources rather than believing that Jesus has already supplied, rather than depending on Christ and his power.  For some reason, I somehow forget about the riches of God’s grace and that out of Christ’s generosity, he has enabled us to give as he did:

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”  (2 Cor 8:9)

I looked up the word “poverty” because I realize, like most words in English, I get the sentiment but can’t articulate it exactly.  It said, “state of having little or no money, goods or means of support.” (emphasis, mine). 

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  Thank you, Jesus, for deciding in your heart to willingly humble yourself to humanity and poverty - experiencing the ultimate lack of means of support when your Father turned away from you when you became our sin on the cross (“Father, why have you forsaken me?”) - so that I could experience the riches of your grace.  Thank you for your ultimate example of generosity by offering up yourself as the Cheerful Giver.  Forgive me for when I cheapen the riches of your grace by my forgetfulness, and help me to kill the strong tendencies of my flesh to be pelit.  Teach us how to give like you gave first.