Collecting Favor

I am not exactly sure how “favor” works from a spiritual perspective, but I know it is a factor at work in our relationship with God.  It is much easier to see how favor affects practical interactions in the physical world.

I have a pretty good reputation for helping other people out, and it has been that way for a long time.  Back when I was in high school, by the time I graduated, nearly anyone in the school who I regularly interacted with owed me a favor, which I never really took advantage.  By my sophomore year of college, I was in the same situation, but over the next two years, most of those favors got cashed in to support the overly ambitious endeavors of one of my multimedia professors.  I don't think he really understood the full scope of the logistical details I took care of that way, until after I was gone.  On the other hand, in return, over the following seven years, he has sent his absolutely best students to come work for me, which is more significant than it may first appear.  (Good help is hard to find.)

Being a technology expert is helpful in that regard.  That can go two ways in a work environment: the IT guy can be the solution to everyone’s problems, or the source of them, by “implementing policy” to control end users, instead of supporting their needs.  I have always been one to find ways around problems, even if it bends the policy rules on occasion.  But while I am well liked in my office, the favor does not accumulate the same way in my work environment.

Outside the office, since graduating, I have helped more than my share of people move, because no one else in LA drives a full sized truck around.  I will probably never see some of those people again, but that is okay.  I wasn't helping them in order to get something back in return, but if I someday do, I am not going to feel guilty about it.

Now that I have recently become a home owner, many of the favors I have done in the last few years are beginning to be returned, which has been great.  I don't think I have spent a whole day working on my house alone yet, and have hardly had to pay anyone for their assistance.  I will start to do so pretty soon, as we get more involved with installations requiring skilled labor, but so far, it has been a very budget friendly endeavor.

With a recent issue disabling my truck, my family has been very supportive in solving that problem, to the tune of alternate vehicle use, space and tools to work on it, and hopefully, assistance in finishing solving the problem with a fairly major repair.  It definitely is bringing into balance a scale that has been severely lopsided for quite a while.

It is very helpful to have favor from others when you really need it.  I haven't felt that in quite a while, possibly just because as a fairly independent person, I haven't really needed and practical support in quite a while.  Emotional support is a little harder to come by, and isn't directly exchangeable.  But fortunately God has recently favored me with the right people being available at the right times, to repay those favors.