Prosperity Birding

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.~ Luke 6:38

To state the obvious, birding is not transactional. Sure, you may pay for a trip with an expert guide, but there can be no absolute guarantees about sightings. The economy of birding involves increased cost for rarities, but the cost is your time and commitment. Trust me, if there was a way to secure 100% odds of sighting the bird of your choice, there would be a waiting list for purchases.

No, like all things in nature, there is reciprocity. This is not a quid-pro-quo sort of reciprocity, rather a pay-it-forward sort of gift economy. The only way to pay for the gift a bird offers is to pay attention. The freedom of the Creator’s gift-giving can be abused with thoughts that more is always better and even perhaps that greed is good. Sometimes when something is free, it is seen as having less value, even when just the opposite is true. Sometimes a supply of free items feeds hoarding. If there is such abundance it will never run out, right? Yeah, maybe not, huh?

Jesus taught that measure you give will be the measure you get back. In other words, if you want to receive heaping piles of blessings, you need to pile on the generosity. There are more than enough hucksters who have turned this equation into a pyramid scheme, “give the church more money and that investment will skyrocket, you will be healthy and wealthy.” They turn grace into a transaction, assuring you that God is happy to indulge your avarice. But recall that right before Jesus offered this formula for receiving blessing, he made it clear that the poor are blessed. This was not spiritualizing poverty, because he also made clear that the rich were not similarly blessed because they chose the lesser reward of wealth. No, for Jesus, being poor was a better choice.

Perhaps part of the appeal of bird watching is witnessing these creatures who are carefree in the care of God. Unburdened, they take flight. Come to think of it, they are pretty good teachers.

Prayer: Gift and Gift-giver, we offer the only thing we can for the prosperity you have granted, our gratitude. Amen.