It was the summer of '93. I will NEVER FORGET MY AUNT MARTHA VAN GENDEREN SAYING " I COUNT MY TOOLS" ...they had invited me to their home in Jackson Wyoming...I thought out of respect for me as a person, but little-by-little I realized that for some reason she thought I was a dishonest, maybe even a thief; and therefore she thought she needed to warm me, her beloved nephew (or so I thought that was how she thought of me...why else invite me? ) , that she 'COUNTED HER TOOLS" (or her husband's tools, my uncle warren). I still remember thinking to myself, "SHE COUNTS HER TOOLS?! That's kind of neurotic don't you think?"...It took me a LONG TIME, actually after I left behind Jackson Hole to realize that she was telling me not to steal my uncle's tools because she counted them. What the heck? That's really a low-ball thing to think of me. I don't STEAL. I did shoplift a little bit during my college days, but later in life I repaid all those debts, not that anybody suffered from my little survival shoplifts. But why would she think I was a thief? And especially if she thought I was such a low-life, why would she invite me to stay at their home? I realized later they thought they could reform me. The only problem was that I was already reformed and a reformer. I was already heading for seminary and Christian ministry in a round-about way. Anyways, I had NO THOUGHT OF, nor intention of, nor need to, steal her tools or anybody else's tools. Just saying. I don't steal. And for that matter, as some great person once said, TAKE the LOG OUT OF YOUR OWN EYE FIRST.
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ACTUALLY, this goes way back in Peters family history because the Peters II family learned to distrust people for self-serving reasons. If you can marginalize a person by convincing yourself they are not of good character, then you have the right to mistreat them (according to their logic). So if they heard a person did one bad thing ten years ago, such a person is/was forever tarnished. There was no such thing as redemption (which is not Christian) in their book. It also lacked in the fact that they couldn't think of themselves as sinners, apart from maybe saying so in a technical sense. Furthermore, they were/are a very wealthy family and therefore shoplifting or stealing would never be a temptation for them. And so the only real sins in their book were sins that they themselves were exempt from, such as sins of thievery, simply because they were a wealthy family.
Nevermind the fact that there are plenty of other sins they could easily be guilty of: lust, wrath, sloth, pride, envy, greed, gluttony to begin with. For that matter, they might not steal or shoplift but were they greedy? Are there some wealthy people that actually CAUSE crime because they don't share? What if one person owned all the wealth in one city and everybody else was beholden to that one person to share with them for survival? What if that person suddenly decided not to share at all? The people would have no choice but to steal for survival. And if such is the case, who is guilty of sin? I would say the person who does not share. Let us not forget that nothing we own is truly ours, but it is entrusted to us by God as stewards. This does not mean we should resort to socialism or communism whereby everybody gets an equal amount regardless of effort, talent, industry, etc. But it does require a certain amount of democracy in distribution of the wealth.
Wealthy people need to be reminded of this over and over and over again. My aunt Martha needed such a reminder. And still needs it. And I'm not saying she owes me anything, nor that I want or need anything from her. I didn't accept her invitation to stay in Jackson Wyoming out of need but out of hospitality. It is a nice thing to accept a person's invitation. To not do so is rude sometimes. I believed as a young Christian evangelical person that I should get to know my aunt & uncle and cousins better and maybe even share the love of Christ with them. It never worked out to that end I don't think because there was too much negative suspicion by them towards me. I never realized I was such a low-life in their eyes. Once you realize that a certain person has such a negative perception of you , the best thing to do is get away. You won't change their perception no matter how good you try to be in their presence. That's because often it is an unconscious self-serving negative suspicion on their part.
A few years later as I was going thru seminary I made a point of sending them a personal check to cover the "rent" for some of the time I spent there. They didn't cash it, but I'm glad I made the point of doing so. It meant a lot. I have never needed to beg. I have always had enough one way or another by the grace of God. He truly does provide, and I am grateful. I continue to evangelize and run my ministry full-time, and travel and attend churches, and grow spiritually , even as I also am not a perfect person. God be with my Aunt Martha & Uncle Warren & their kids (my cousins). Let us hope that someday we can meet eachother with mutual respect and regard for eachother.
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" If u declare with your mouth,
"Jesus is Lord," & believe in your heart
that God raised Him from the dead,
u will be saved."
Romans 10.9