From The Chaplain

After the new year, we had the traditional clear-out frenzy. Otherwise known as a gradual erosion of the will to live.

I hate it. We savaged the house and car upholstery with a wet vac, washed the windows, painted the steps, water-blasted the paths and guttering, weeded the garden and generally suffered the cruel oppression of first-world problems.

Then, I spent an eternity writing Trademe listings and dreaming about the potential cash that would pour in.

And I’m glad I had the dreams. Otherwise, the whole thing would have been very disappointing.

However, there was one thing I put off until the very end.

It was an old treasure that both our boys grew up with. I spent a good deal of time wire-brushing the superficial rust. Slightly longer with a toothbrush and sugar soap on the grips and rims. A few minutes restaining the deck and spray laminating. Flippin’ ages rubbing grease off and still longer replacing the seat. I can't remember where we got it, but may God bless them richly. It feels like a thousand kids have ridden it, and it has not batted an eyelid. I've seen grown men ride it and teenagers pedalling with a mate on the back. It is the Humvee of trikes.

Nevertheless, it had to go (to make more space for stuff to sell this time next year), so I found myself writing this listing on the Trademe.

"Lil' Giant Trike"

This is a classic. Giant makes bikes that last, and their Lil' trikes are indestructible!

This beautiful silver and blue classic tricycle sports a new Merida seat and a re-stained and laminated deck for your wingman.

Steel frame! That's right, baby. Giant is not messing around. Inflatable tyres? No sir, urethane all the way - they will ride through lava.

Brakes? Whatever, bro, just stop pedalling.

Gears!? Jokes. But you can ride it forwards and backwards. Genius!

Why am I selling this, I hear you ask?

Why am I selling this?

Let’s be honest; that bike was not going anywhere. God-willing, our grandchildren will ride around on this, crash it, double each other, add a bell and ring it incessantly. They will make more memories, and it will continue to be more than just a bike.

All I needed to see its value was a little respect - ngaakau whakaute.

And that is one literal aspect of respect. Like introspect, retrospect, and inspect - respect is about looking - in particular, it is about looking again: re-specting.

Too often, we look once and judge too soon or see too often and take it for granted.

If it’s a bike on Trademe, it may not be such a big issue, but the stakes are much higher if it’s a person.

That means we need to look not just with our eyes but our heart (ngaakau) as well - hence ngaakau whakaute.

This is why our Scripture for 2024 is the passage from Romans 13:

“Give everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour. Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for those who love their neighbours have fulfilled the law.”

To respect and honour the ones you love and like is pretty straightforward, but to respect the ones you struggle to love and like is the real challenge. It might be your colleagues, it might be your students, it might be your family. Whoever it is, your challenge (should you choose to accept it), is to take another look with your heart, to ngaakau whakaute that person and find their value.

When you do that, you capture the fulfilment of the law, which is love.

So, beautiful people, when you look at each other, find the value within and choose to love that.