Gift cards are dumb

Lil' smokies. I bought lil' smokies. I never buy smokies! But on Monday, not only did I snag the smokies, but I also bought the 16 oz. KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce to go with them. After my shopping spree, I wheeled the $97 worth of groceries and random household items out of the store, feeling pretty accomplished. But as I drew closer to the car, reality crept up on me and I couldn't help but wonder, "What just happened in there?"

Well, I'll tell you what happened – I was consumed by the financial invincibility of the $100 Hy-Vee gift card. Gift cards have some sort of psychological hold on me, and the more I think about it, the more I don't like gift cards. And hey – I still have $3 left on that one! Which brings me to my first beef.

Companies LOVE gift cards. When you purchase one, the absolute worst thing that can happen to that company is the customer spends the entire amount at their store. Bummer! On the other hand, the best thing that can happen is if the customer loses the card, forgets about it completely, or doesn't spend the entire amount by the time it expires – money in the bank! Think about it – you're paying money for a piece of plastic worth the same amount of money that can only be spent at one particular place. Voluntarily limiting our spending power? That's just plain un-American!

Point two on gift cards: they aren't real money. Are they? Sure doesn't feel like it. I would never have spent $97 in a single trip to Hy-Vee if I was paying in cash. “Hmm, the coffee aisle smells good. I usually buy Folger's...but...I have a gift card – might as well try the Bergie's Colombian.” Next thing you know, I'm sitting with $3 left on the card, and about six unopened Rice Sides in my cupboard three months from now.

I'm not saying that gift cards are wrong for everybody. Gift cards are absolutely perfect for two extremes of society: penny-pinchers and addicts. For the pinchers, gift cards are a great idea because they force “luxurious” spending. You know as well as I do that if you give a cheapskate some cash, they'll throw it into the bank or blow the money on something practical! Boring. Better get 'em a Dave & Buster's card and force them to enjoy themselves like these winners:

As for the addicts, it's pretty much the same principle as giving a homeless guy a sandwich instead of a dollar. When you give someone cash, they can spend it wherever the heck they want! But with gift cards, you have complete control over spending location. This type of control is very strategic when you want to send a subliminal message. Card to the the Gap? Your fashion could use an update. Card to Nutri-Shop? Get in shape. Or in my case, cards to Chili's and Outback Steakhouse... “Take a girl out to dinner, already!"

In conclusion - mom and dad, please don't be offended by this rant I really do appreciate the gift cards! The Hy-Vee card is actually one of the more practical ones I've seen, and as for Chili's and Outback...well, let's just say I'll work on that.

But who knows, maybe I'll just let 'em sit. Not like it's real money, anyway.

Margins

Maybe I watched too much Bob Ross as a child, but I can't help but get excited when I see a blank sheet of paper. I'm no painter, but give me a pencil, pen or sharpie, and I'll doodle up a storm. I was reminded of this on Sunday when I was looking through some of my course notes from my four years at Iowa State University. These pages were usually limited to barely-coherent scribblings on western civilization, american literature, astronomy - things that I remember very little about today. In fact, the only thing I really find interesting about these pages anymore are the curious shapes and characters found in the margins.

Almost every one of my notebook pages contained some sort of illustration - cubes, spirals and stars were my default drawings, but on days of peak boredom I put together some all-out masterpieces.

Looking back on these drawings makes me think there's a lot to be said for using the margins. Sure, I could have paid better attention in class, but then I wouldn't have these great pictures to look back at. I could be really cliche and say that every day is a blank page, but tomorrow's not. I've got places to go, appointments to show up for, deadlines to meet...but there's still a couple slivers of blank space to work with. I could leave the margins blank, I suppose, but someday I'll look back on tomorrow and the margins will be all I care about. Plus, drawing ninjas is pretty fun.

The Body

The church is often referred to as "the body of Christ" - probably the best way I can think of to illustrate the unity that Jesus prayed for in John 17:20-23. However, when I read Jesus' prayer for us, I sometimes wonder why his main request for the church is unity. Why not boldness? Why not protection, like he prayed for his disciples?

I won't claim to have any definitive answers here, but the question did spur a thought process:

There are a lot of different types of bodies out there. Tall, squat, muscular, hairy, slender, etc. Most of a body's appearance and behavior is due to its DNA - the inherent genetic code at the foundation of its growth. Christ followers also have a foundational DNA - that given by the Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc.). Our physical and spiritual DNA is inherited, but there are a lot of aspects of the body that we can control, through two well-known disciplines:

Diet.

Think about what the body of Christ is consuming (and I'm not talking bread and grape juice). Think about a typical day - do you discipline yourself to consume daily portions of Scripture (bread), have authentic fellowship with friends (protein), and supplement that with beneficial knowledge and productivity (vitamins and minerals)? Or do you find yourself continually going back to the cookie jar for extra helpings of distraction (sweets, empty calories)? As for me, I know that all too often I'm not only taking second helpings, but I'm the one baking the cookies and cramming them down people's throats. Don't get me wrong here - there are tons of great "desserts" out there, but discipline is necessary. Entertainment isn't bad - but only as part of a balanced breakfast.

Exercise.

Each Christ follower has a specific role to play in this body - and just as in our own bodies, these parts need exercise to function at their full potential. What is your spiritual fitness level? Are you training yourself to be used to the maximum, or are you the type of body part that is content to move only when needed, and just hang out in between uses? Once again, I find that all too often I'm willing to do just what's necessary, without pushing myself to be of maximum use. Discipline is again the key here - it takes discipline to open your Bible and journal, just as it does to go to the gym and lift.

Which brings me back to unity. Why did Jesus put so much stress on this?

When one part of the body rises up against another in the church, we call it division. When a part of our physical body rises up against another, we call it cancer. Cancer is among our most feared diseases - its spread is unpredictable and its symptoms can go unrecognized for years - the only way to effectively destroy it is to catch it early. Does this sound familiar at all? It's the same with division in the church. If not caught early, division will eat away at the body from the inside, and by the time it's caught, it won't be healed without exhausting and harmful intervention (chemotherapy).

This begs the question: are we treating division in the body of Christ with the same seriousness as the medical community treats cancer? Are we vigilant in examining ourselves for lumps and cutting out the tumors? I have no answers, but I think a higher awareness is warranted.

On the bright side, one profound difference between a physical cancer and a spiritual cancer is the hope for a cure. Despite all of the work on a cure for physical cancer, it is not promised to us, whereas our spirit's cure will come in the future establishment of Christ's kingdom.

"...we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." - Ephesians 4:15-16