I couldn’t do it.
Jan 4th, 2008 by Jon Posted in Life Stories | 2 Comments
For the past 2 months I’ve been dealing with a superficial dilemma. You see, I’m a bit of a photographer and enjoy taking photos as a hobby. But in the past year I’ve realized that my photography has become an important ministry tool. While in Nicaragua children often would come up to me to get their photos taken (which I readily oblige) and they would yell and scream to see their own image on the little LCD on the camera. While back at home, the exact same photos become valuable storytelling tools when I share about missions and how we as individuals can make a difference for God.
In this new year I plan on using my photography and stories in a more intentional way, so when it came time to consider upgrading my camera equipment I was eager to buy the latest Nikon D300 dSLR camera. The D300 is the latest in professional-consumer technology with a lot of great features that I think I could use. (See this link for a conversation between me and friends regarding this).
I was internally debating my purchase of this $1800 camera and trying as best as I could to justify the expenditure. But in the past week I was convinced to buy an older used camera (a Nikon D200) and save money instead. In the end it was my wife who convinced me… and all she did was hold up two fingers to indicate the quantity of 2. Why? Because this was the number of children I’d be able to sponsor at Verbo using the money I’d save.
When it was all said and done, I saved much more and ultimately that money saved will enable me to serve and sponsor more children in Bluefields.
Our society (notably marketing) tries so hard to convince you that you’re not good enough because you don’t have their newest products - indeed, I was caught up in the marketing hype of the Nikon D300. Granted it probably is a fantastic camera and probably takes fantastic photos, but in the end I didn’t need it. The older Nikon D200 will suit me fine and it will allow me to do what I plan to do as ministry in the coming year, and the money saved can be used for something better.
It’s one of the rare times when spending less actually gains me more.
January 4th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Thanks for Sharing. Ian and I are praying for you.
January 10th, 2008 at 10:23 pm
[...] any case, here’s a blog posting from a photo hobbyist who has his values straight. He opted for an older Nikon D200 rather than the newest D300, and he used the money he saved [...]