What a waste
The good news of inefficiency
In the Torah, inefficiency and waste are baked into the Law of the Land. The people of Israel are repeatedly commanded NOT to maximize the production of their land—to leave crops behind them that have dropped, to leave the edges of the fields unharvested, and to allow their fields to remain uncultivated every seven years.
What a waste!
The point of this “waste” was to leave crops for what has been called “the quartet of the vulnerable” - the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant. These were, and still are, the members of society who are the least powerful and influential, the most susceptible to disaster and mistreatment, and the least able to change the course of their lives without help. Just read the book of Ruth. The edges, the leavings, the uncultivated but inevitable crops - these were all to be left for the vulnerable.
I believe another point of this inefficiency was for the prosperous; to teach God’s people that wealth, prosperity, and “having enough” do not come about by grasping, by grinding harder, by squeezing the last drop. It comes from God, and, paradoxically, it comes by letting go, by having a free hand. Generosity is not a result of prosperity, it is somehow the source of it.
Maybe there was a hint of this in the Garden, and with Eve we’re tempted into the prison of feeling if we can’t have everything, nothing will make us happy. We think if we let something go, we are losing out. God says, no, we gain by giving.
Finally, it’s a deep comfort, because the gospel is that God, in this greatness, has taken pity on us in our poverty, and given us abundance in Jesus Christ. When we were weak, poor, and rejected, Jesus took our place and shared his with us. That's grace! That is good news!
If the sharp scythe of efficiency must be used, let it be held gently and carefully. If it must be swung, let it be with restraint and intentionality. If it must cut down, let it also leave some standing for those in need.
This all comes to mind this week, because at the forefront of the attempt to forge government efficiency is the apparent scuttling of USAID. The rush to respond to the border crisis and curb illegal immigration has resulted in shutting down the refugee resettlement program.
I’m no expert, especially in which areas need tightening budgets or practices. But I am grieved that amid a pursuit for greatness, some of the first initiatives to fall involve caring for the vulnerable, both within our borders and around the world. In the name of efficiency, we are further impoverishing and endangering people who are hanging by a thread. Perhaps other areas of our government spending could be curbed first? Waste/wealth that is pouring into already full pockets? Even if the accusations were true, that there is some misuse of funds and certain hoodwinking of the common American citizen, does <1% of the federal budget warrant burning the field to scare out the vermin?
If the sharp scythe of efficiency must be used, let it be held gently and carefully. If it must be swung, let it be with restraint and intentionality. If it must cut down, let it also leave some standing for those in need.
I don’t know the answers to the problems, but I hope we can work together to continue to make this country more and more compassionate. That is true greatness.
Peace to you ☧
When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this.
Deuteronomy 24:19-22
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:9-10
For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove.
Exodus 23:10-11
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:17-19