Monday, October 09, 2006

Joel, Meet St. Augustine.

Augustine preaches on Prosperity. I think he was on to something.

"Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others." -St. Augustine







11 comments:

Anonymous said...

But it turns out I need some cool stuff.

Brant

Seth Ward said...

I'm sure you do.

I thought about this as well.

I do not doubt that one could be inspired to find all kinds of "needs" And maybe, just maybe I could also say that I "need" lots of cool things as well. (Like the new pro tools rack... and the new ipod and what the heck a quick mil wouldn't hurt...)

If we could at least get the other half of this message down pat or even started then maybe some perspective could be given on what we do and do not really need.

Anonymous said...

Brilliant quote.

Send me a quick email so I can have yours...

brodyharper@mac.com

Reijn of the Elfin Muse said...

i just noticed the quote underneath your header on the main page: "but this one goes to eleven" I just noticed it, and i couldn't stop laughing...Spinal Tap!

Anonymous said...

I like the arrangement of the pictures there. Neat.

I'm with Brant. I need cool stuff. And cool stuff costs buttloads!

Kat's right, defining need gets tricky. Perhaps you're right about our focus. If we aimed to give away as much as we could, I think we would find our needs were much less.

However... just to be the turd in the punchbowl: Do we need art?

Reijn of the Elfin Muse said...

The Cachinnator: and just respond to your (in my humble opinion) stupid terd comment/question...yes we do need art. Art is the epetamy of expressioin. i refuse to answer any more.

Seth Ward said...

About the art question. I think man without art is a non-thing. It is a part of his very character. Part of what makes him human. Without art we would have hardly a functioning society. There are different "kinds" of art and their necessity is debatable for sure. However, it would be a crying shame if we implemented laws that Outlawed art because of a lack of function or necessity. That would be a depraved society indeed. I think that there is plenty of vulgar art in this world and I think that even it serves a function of some sorts, even it if is there to help us to know that there is indeed art that edifies the soul and enriches culture and society and there is art that does not.

Sorry for grammar prob's typing on the run...

Kat, I think that if you are saving because you do not rely on God then, Yes, you are saving for the wrong reason. I do not think it is wrong to save for college education or for clothes for your child's first day of school. This is certainly not spending excessively on yourself.

I have wondered about the retirement thing myself. I am also undecided on this. Amber and I have been directly faced with this issue lately and we have decided that we should spend now on the dreams that we have today...rather than wait till we are too old to do any of them or have to wear dypers to at least try.

Anonymous said...

Calm down there, Reijn. I think it's pretty obvious that I'm not saying that we don't need art. Breathe.

I asked the question because I certainly feel that we need art. I think it is part of what makes us human. It separates us from animals. And it is also a perfect example of how different people are going to define need differently.

That is to say, if you were told that you had five minutes to pack a backpack and get out of your house because your city was going to be destroyed, would you take up room with your favorite painting? Of course not. Now ask a 65 year-old person whether or not they need their savings. Their answer may be different from ours in our twenties and thirties.

This backs up the point we were making earlier in the thread: we're not going to come to consensus about what we need, but we should certainly agree that our focus as Christians should be giving as much as we can.

Seth Ward said...

The real question is that if the house was burning and you had the choice to grab the painting, the money OR the 65 year old grandma...

"we're not going to come to consensus about what we need, but we should certainly agree that our focus as Christians should be giving as much as we can."

Very true. This is why I wanted to introduce sir Joel to St. Augustine. The balance is certainly skewed with Joely. Always thinking of ways to help and bless others keeps us from excessive, self-indulgent spending.

It may be that you actually need some cool stuff but I dare say that you would by the bare minimum of 'cool stuff' if you were always thinking first for the good of others.

Seth Ward said...

btw reijn, Cach's question was far from stupid, in my opinion. It was a good question and one that all artists should be ready to answer, which is why, i gather, he was asking it.

Reijn of the Elfin Muse said...

i never took offence by it. I was playing off of his post venacular. That didn't come across...sorry.

Art is the soul of a human. Even people who's talents lay in engeneering are artists. Thier creation is more mechnical than organic. Even when i listen to my dad practice, it is very mechnically thought out and percise, from the strums to dynamics. Its almost comical, but that is my dad...the engeneer through and through. When i practice he gets on my case for not being mechanical enough...i go for the feel and the emotion before anything else...but that is just my style. Even with my drawings, i picture my audience and what i want them to get out of what i do. Art is humanity. They are one in the same. Like you said Seth, society cannot function without it. Art is everything and everywere...almost like beauty. Even the most un-artistic person creates art....don't women put on makeup? Don't men style thier hair?