$2,600.00

$2,600 would buy me a pretty sweet new iMac, now shipping with the Leopard OS. With a bit of software, I could be up and running with my own home production studio. And more than that, it would look sweet sitting on my desk. In fact, now that I've been obsessing about it, I can't really look at my desk without picturing it right there between my PC and my iBook. "Look at you, iMac! All self-contained!"

$2,600 dollars, and it would be mine. I could consider it an investment. A business investment of sorts that will produce income once things get rolling. A couple big projects and it practically pays for itself! I'm actually losing money by not buying it, right? Yeah, that's right...keep convincing me. I can be won over with a good argument. It's not just something I want, I NEED an iMac!

$2,600 consumes my mind as I drive to lunch. Mondays are my day off, so JC and I hang out together and do father/son stuff. As I drive to meet Kristen at her school (the new job is going great by the way), the radio is on, but my mind is still panning through the loads of images apple.com has of its products. I saw them over and over during JC's morning nap. I know I'm obsessing, but it's such a fun obsession. And I could do a lot of good with an iMac. I just can't figure out how I lived this long without one.

$2,600 is hard to come by...I have a lot of bills, and it would take me a long time to save that much money. It's probably not a reality, so I need to get my mind off this stuff. The radio isn't helpful. It rarely is. I've heard each station three times...I guess I'll just listen to the interview on the local Christian radio station. There's a sweet Jamaican accent speaking! Typical...he's asking for money. "If ya save ya change fram naw til Christmas, you could save arawnd $130. That would help a poor Jamaican family." Typical...if I saved my change from now til Christmas, I would be $2,470 away from my iMac! Then the DJ came back on. I'll admit, there was a lot of passion in the man's voice, and he seemed to be moving the DJ enough to plead with us. "That's right folks. $87 will build a foundation for a new home. $160 covers the cost of a roof. $335 provides two windows, a door and a frame. And for $2,600 you could build an entire home for a poor family in Jamaica."

$2,600. I spent the morning obsessing - just short of praying to God - for $2,600. I want to put a fancy computer screen in the corner of my home office. I want to set it next to the two computers I already have, across the room from the TV, down the stairs from the stereo, down the hall from the TV in my bedroom where I set my Motorola cell phone every night as I lay my head down in the most comfortable bed we could find when we got married. I'll wake up, complain about the chill in the bedroom as I walk 5 feet to my double sink bathroom, and heat up the shower for a couple minutes before standing under the hottest water I can stand for at least 15 minutes. Then I'll go to my stainless steel fridge and complain about my food selection, and since I can't make up my mind, I'll just get McDonald's breakfast on my way to work in my new (to me) van. When I get to work, I'll push the button that opens the door of the van so JC can get out and go in to the daycare where he gets well cared for and fed.

$2,600 - if only I had the money for that new iMac, my possessions would be complete. Well...sort of. Once I have a new iMac, I'd soon need to upgrade that phone of mine to an iPhone. After all, why wouldn't I want to connect to my computer from...everywhere. I'd probably have to have an apple tv unit, too, because my 24" iMac isn't big enough to watch the movies I just bought. Oh, but my TV I have now isn't compatible...oh well, for another $2,600 I could have the biggest tv in the store! I really don't NEED one that big...I wonder what I can get for half that? $1,300 will still buy me a sweet TV.

$2,600 means a lot more to a poor family in Jamaica. It means a cement foundation, a roof, two windows and a door, and walls. I don't know if any of that goes towards pluming or not. And they didn't say anything about a fridge, tv, bed, or cell phone. And I'm guessing there's not an apple store in this part of Jamaica. But they don't need those things. They need the things I take for granted. The things I've never been without for even one day.

$2,600 would take me about a year to save, maybe more. I'm over-extended because of all the things I want. In a year, I could put a shiny new iMac on my desk. Or, 12 months from now a family could move into a new home that my money built, the money I saved for them. They could know what it's like to wake up with their own roof over their heads because of my generosity.

$2,600 is my obsession. As I pulled up to Kristen's school, I wiped the tears from my eyes, turned the radio down, and greeted my wife. Over lunch we discussed the remaining luxuries in our lives we can cut out. I will save $2,600. And through prayer and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I will condition myself to be generous with the blessings God has given me. $2,600 is a lot of money to me, and I can't wait to experience the blessing of being a blessing when I can give $2,600 away to someone who needs it more than I want it.


KGBI Omaha - Food for the Poor