Seeing Is Believing

Our friends Damon and Amy recently bought a new bagless vacuum. They are much more faithful vacuumers than we've even thought about being, so I wasn't surprised by their enthusiasm about this new purchase. But once I saw how that baby worked, I decided that we HAD to have one too. Why? Because you can see the dirt and junk it picks up. It's so satisfying to see the results of your labor, right there in the clear little canister (in this case, the "results" of our labor included dust, dirt, hair, sand, and all kinds of mysterious muck...who knew that could be so exciting?!?) Now that we have our own little guy, I'm really excited about vacuuming. I liken it to the joy of pulling a Biore pore strip off of your face--maybe you know what I'm talking about.

I'm not one to get that excited about cleaning, so that got me thinking about the power of seeing results. I know I'm not discovering anything Earth-shattering here, but I have started thinking about how my motivation level goes up exponentially when I can see the outcome of what I'm doing. Last year, our friend Gavin shared with me a little article in some business magazine about this new group that allowed regular people to lend money to micro-financing projects. Kiva is now much more well-known and well-financed (that's what getting the attention of Oprah and Bill Clinton will do for you) and I think they have a brilliant set-up. The site allows a would-be lender to lend X amount of money and shop around for the person to whom they'd like to make that loan. As the borrower re-pays the money, the lender or lenders get e-mail updates regarding the status of the repayment. I'm always happy to see how my little bit of money is being slowly paid back and helping my borrower get her business started.

I guess I'm narcissistic enough to want to give when I can immediately see the results of what I'm doing. That's probably something I should change about myself, because I believe God calls us to follow Him, to do good without regard for what the results are. And I'm glad He treats us with the same kindness. But I also think it's smart of vacuum manufacturers and micro-financing groups to capitalize on that part of human nature (come on, it's not just me, is it?) by allowing someone like me to see the fruits of my labor, thereby motivating me to lend money/vacuum more often:)