Country Music Half Marathon - 2010

Image by Ben Sutherland via Flickr

This Saturday I am running in my second Country Music 1/2 Marathon in Nashville. When I look at the posts from two years ago, I'm not sue why I am doing this again.

• No Relation to Gump
• My first half marathon experience

Honestly, I am doing this out of peer pressure. Because so many Lamponians are running, I felt a little shame for not participating. Since it is a company benefit (if you complete the race), I signed up.

I had every intention of  improving my time from 2:38 to 2:00. Somewhere between the start of my first training run and the first lap, I was reminded how much I hate running for the sake of running. My training has consisted of a once a week basketball game. Saturday could be interesting.

Knowing is half the battle

G.I. Joe was my favorite cartoon and toy as a child. At the end of every episode, there was a short public service announcement where one of the Joes mysteriously came out of nowhere and rescued some kids from doing something stupid like picking up a fallen power line or helping someone who fell into a pool because their parents were nowhere to be found.

They then explained how to handle the situation, and ended the segment with the kids saying something like "Now, we know!"

Then the Joe, would say "And knowing is half the battle."

As cheesy as this segment was, the impact of that statement is significant. It has stuck with me as an "attention to detail" kind of person. In a lot of ways, it has become my motto for making a decision. I feel like I am letting down Duke, Scarlett, Gung-Ho, Snake Eyes and all the others when I don't take time, even if it is just a minute to think about my decision.

Giving and Statistics

These are some recent stats I've seen or heard.

• 49% of households do not pay taxes (source)
• Christians whose household income is $12,500 or less, give the second highest percentage of income away at 7%. Households making over $90k give 8.8% (source)

Often, Christians are challenged to tithe, just as the Jews were commanded from Torah, with one exception. Christians are encouraged to be even more generous and give beyond 10% of their income. Well, technically they are encouraged to give "cheerfully", but that has wrongly become synonymous with "more." To the Jews, 10% was regarded as a tax. It was essentially their federal tax only it was more of a flat tax (Lapin).

I say all this to say, using statistics to encourage people to be generous doesn't mix. "Figures lie an liars figure." You see, if I give roughly 20% in taxes I could argue I give more than 10%. Only, I don't always give my taxes "cheerfully," That's where giving beyond my duty comes into play. Giving to my local congregation or charity allows me the freedom to give cheerfully and generously.

If you want to shame the rich for not giving a larger percentage of their income compared to the percentage the poor give, then you must also praise the rich for paying taxes to support services for the poor who pay nothing for them.

Just leave statistics out of it and focus on giving cheerfully. It also helps to avoid the temptation of judging others and what they give.