“I don’t see many of “the brightest and the best” among you, not many influential, not many from high-society families. Isn’t it obvious that God deliberately chose men and women that the culture overlooks and exploits and abuses, chose these “nobodies” to expose the hollow pretensions of the “somebodies”?” 1 Cor.1:27 (The Message)

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Since being in North America my family and I have taken up a new hobby – thrifting. This is the art of finding bargains amongst the stuff people have given away to thrift or charity stores run by organizations like The Salvation Army and Bibles for Missions.

Like treasure hunters, my family and I go to the various thrift stores around town to seek out the various bargains on offer. I usually come away with a few CD’s or books, as does my wife; my daughter often finds bargain pieces of clothing; and my two boys typically walk away with toys, computer games, or DVD’s.

I would say that over half of the books that I own are from thrift stores. It’s amazing; you can pick up newish books that in the stores retail for $20 for 10% of the cover cost, or less. Being somewhat of a tightwad, this is right up my alley.

However, I was shocked when I found that many people think that thrifting is beneath them. I remember speaking to a woman who said that thrift stores were filled with garbage. Thinking more on this she may essentially be right, but I suppose it’s like the saying goes, one person’s trash is another person’s treasure.

Another person told me that thrift stores were filled with “dirty things” and that he didn’t want to get his hands dirty. Thinking about this from a faith perspective, isn’t this the way it is with Christians sometimes. Some people don’t mind getting their hands dirty to look for the “bargains” to be had in the world; people who, although rough around the edges are in fact precious in the eyes of the Lord. Lest we forget, “God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 (CEV)

Then there are those who wouldn’t go “bargain hunting” if their lives depended on it. David Jeremiah in his book The Things That Matter writes that instead of busying themselves with the Lord’s work many Christians say things like, “Why should we entangle ourselves in the messy affairs of this passing world? Why should we soil our garments…(struggling) for a more just and moral society? Why don’t we just hold hands, sing songs, read psalms, and wait for the (Lord’s return)?” (1) Their idea of evangelism or outreach is to invite their own kind to church, those who would fit in nicely to their cliques and “member only” groups. In short, they don’t want to, or are afraid to reach out to the world around them, because they might get their hands dirty.

I’ll be honest and say that not everything in thrift stores is 100% clean. For instance, if I buy toys or books for my kids I always clean them before use. Similarly, reaching out in God’s love to the world around us might cause us to dirty our hands, and some cleaning may be required afterward, but what wonderful treasures await those who would take the time to seek them out.

Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
October, 2008

References:
1. The Things That Matter by David Jeremiah – Word Publishing, 2003, p.6

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