I was just looking at one of the paintings I brought back from Nicaragua. It is about A4 in size and is a bright scene of a village near a lake. I get joy out of looking at it. It cost me £10. It then cost me £10 to have it framed. Without a doubt I have got value for money.
But I was supposed to haggle over the price. I was supposed to knock the price down by 20% and feel really good about winning a bargain. I just can’t do it. My saving of a cup of coffee (cheap coffee mind you) would be a loss of a lot more to the Nicaraguan that sold it to me. But they almost seemed offended that I didn’t try to barter.
Life sometimes brings us these conflicts. I know a lot of people get annoyed by the politics of Franklin Graham, and the beliefs of the Samaritans Purse organisation. But there they were yesterday, with their first plane load of aid for Lebanon. Feet on the ground in the disaster area. They were one of the only NGOs to set up in Italy as the hospitals were bursting. And I worked alongside them in a refugee camp in Greece,
So do we say, sorry starving people, we are giving our money to an organisation that isn’t there yet because of our world views, so please starve a little longer if you can?
It really can be hard to make the right choice, if there is one. I think I try to be guided by what is best for the weakest. But that means swallowing my pride at times, and I am afraid sometimes I have too strong a gag reflex.