A Change of Heart

As much as I love people and cultures from all around the world, the more I travel, the more I realize how much of an American I really am. In some instances, I think the "American" inside of me is a good thing. On other occasions, I'm embarrassed by my "inner American." But still, I'm growing and learning.

The reason I'm writing about this topic is because I've recently realized that a major change has taken place in my heart. This might sound a little harsh, but I think American culture (and Western culture in general) has ingrained in us the idea that we should be able to get whatever we want, at the cheapest possible cost to us, regardless of what it might cost another person. On a larger scale, I think American big-business has this mentality when it comes to getting cheap labor overseas to produce the goods we so readily consume every day. Let's face it, we are "bottom line" kind of people. Harsh? Yes. But true? I think so.

Anyway, ever since I was a kid I have loved going to local marketplaces and bargaining with the people there. I remember as a ten-year-old going to Jamaica and bargaining with the natives for a little bamboo guitar and a wooden carving of a shark. It was a thrill to barter back and forth, finally settling on a price we could both agree on.

Since that time, I've been to dozens of these foreign marketplaces, and I've really learned how to play the "game." The shop owner is always going to start with a price at least double what he is willing to take for the item. As the buyer, you should always be willing to walk away. In fact, walking away is one of the best tricks to getting the price you want because, more often than not, the seller will call you back and accept your price. I also "learned" some things that I'm not exactly proud of. I "learned" to assume that these people were trying to scam me out of my money. I "learned" how to squeeze every last penny out of them, until they gave me the absolute lowest price that they could. Essentially, I "learned" how to be a greedy, rich American who hordes as much of my money as possible.

My thinking started to change a few months back, when I was bartering with a stone sculptor in Cape Town. Here I was, arguing down the price by the penny, when just down the road was the tin shack where this man lived. His name was Amos, and after talking to him for a little bit, I gave him more money for the item than what I knew he would take. I simply realized that he needed it more than I did. That's honestly the first time I've ever done, and it felt good.

My heart continued to change as I spent time in Zimbabwe. First of all, in the small village of Chihota, I met a stone sculptor named Andy. He lived in poverty, even though he was an incredible artist. His art should be sitting in a gallery, but instead he's forced to sell it for pennies. I finally got to see a face behind where all of these crafts in the markets come from.

And, finally, on our way back to South Africa from Zimbabwe, we stopped at this small marketplace on the side of the road, not far from Harare. I was doing my usual thing, assuming that these people were out to swindle me, and not even noticing their extreme poverty. As I was bargaining a price with one of the artists, he put the carving in my hand and said, "Here, take it. Just give me some food or clothing, and it's yours." This man wasn't looking for an extra buck to put towards his new flat-screen HDTV, he was looking for food to put on the table for his family.

Wow...that one encounter changed me. In that one moment I learned a huge lesson. I've been given so much, but yet the American inside of me is constantly trying to hold onto what I've been given. I really don't want to be like that anymore. My prayer is that God continues changing my heart, filling me with a spirit of generosity. It's a slow and painful process, but I'm learning to put others before me. And may God challenge you as well. In what ways do you find yourself thinking about #1? May God continue to mold you to be more like Him, considering the needs of others above your own.