The Kingdom of Craigslist

I have recently been putting to the test my claim earlier this year that there was no need to put our furniture in storage. When we moved out, instead of storing our couches or table and chairs, we gave them away. They had been gifted to us when we were married and first moved out and we have appreciated and enjoyed them immensely during our 4 years in Abbotsford. However, there was a lack of room in the storage and 4 years later I didn't love all the furniture that had served us so well. So, with a certain amount of audacity, we gave the furniture away to someone else who was moving out for the first time. If I were to spiritualize this move, I might say that giving the furniture away was an act of faith in God's goodness and provision - that we are called to give generously to those in need and each other out of whatever we have not just abundance. My own retort to my spiritualization would be the question - did I have faith in God or faith in craigslist? The truth, I believe, is both and that they are not mutually exclusive. As we have moved into our new place, by the grace of God (or pure randomness), found a number of new furniture items that we have been given by friends and via craigslist: a loveseat, a chair, an entertainment unit, a table, two kitchen chairs, and a filing cabinet.

The filing cabinet, which is black, quite large and functional but not particularly nice, is the object which leads me to this post. I had responded to the post and arranged a time to pick it up. After this however, I received an email saying that the owner had received offers of money and would I consider making a small donation to the charity which the filing cabinet was from (a leftover from a fundraising garage sale). I tried my best to politely say no. To my surprise, I was still given the filing cabinet, although informed that a donation would be made on my behalf. I said thank you very much and said that was very nice to make a donation. I, however, was left with the nagging feeling of guilt for not offering the donation myself. 

Yesterday, I was able to pick up a custom birch entertainment unit for free that is very nice and I am thrilled with. The person giving it away was wonderful, and explained how she had been given it but was now moving and couldn't take it with her and thus decided to pay it forward to someone else. This was a truly wonderful experience of receiving a spectacular gift for absolutely free. As I have been reflecting on these experiences, I realize how rare it is to be truly given something without expectation. The question "what's the catch?" is not unwarranted. In fact, it is precisely the social expectation of reciprocity that leads fundraising and marketing campaigns to often provide a "free gift." Because of our social constructions we are hard-wired to feel the need to give something in return. The Hare Krishnas benefited greatly from the social rules of reciprocity when they gave away flowers while fundraising. Often there are expectations of relational loyalty, a returned favour, or reciprocal gift that accompany an act of generosity. Amusingly, while we are very familiar with the concept of selling nothing, or buying nothing, we are very unfamiliar and often uncomfortable with receiving something for nothing. To explain what I mean: It is the consumer capitalist's dream to create and profit from the power of a brand: the intangible nothingness of a name that allows Hershey chocolate to simultaneously decrease the amount of chocolate in their bars while increasing their price - the reason we happily pay more for a particular type of shoes or T shirt, despite an overall low quality construction or unethical production.

Evangelicals like to say that salvation is "free". However, they also like to say that Jesus "paid" for your sins. Furthermore, while on the one hand, you don't/can't "earn" your salvation, it does come with rather some very large relational expectations: a life of sacrificial service, devoted to God, modelled after Jesus... I wonder if my experience of receiving the entertainment unit on craigslist did not contain more grace than our typical evangelical salvation narrative? And if there is more grace on craigslist than in our churches, then we are in trouble... 

The power of the rule of reciprocity in relation to generosity seems to function in so far as people seem more inclined to give away that which they have been given. I gave away the furniture I had been given, the entertainment unit was gifted to me for the second time in its life. I like to imagine a world filled with enough trust and compassion to allow everything to be a gift. I like to try and find ways to live in that world because I think that is heaven. I am grateful to craigslist for increasing shalom in Vancouver.