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March 5th 2010
My wife, Susan, is an avid farmer. She was actually raised as a city girl and we’ve lived in the suburbs all of our lives, but lately she’s taken up farming on Facebook. It’s a game that many of her friends play with her called Farmville.
Personally, I’m not a game person, but I’ve been fascinated by the things I’m learning about Farmville. The player begins with only a small plot of land and some seeds. Right away, that concept grabbed my attention because it’s so similar to our lives. Each of us also is born into a circle of influence – there are people in each of our lives whom we’ve been assigned to influence in a positive way.
Jesus said, “Love your neighbour as yourself.” The word “neighbour” is an old English word that has its roots in near (neigh) and farmer (bour), so our neighbour is the person who is working his farm next-door. It could mean our family, friends, next-door neighbour, workmates or a guy we sit beside on the bus. We have a responsibility to positively influence that circle of neighbours each day.
Then the writer of the Psalms penned that each of us carries “a bag of seeds” around with us in our daily routines. These seeds are love, peace, wisdom, courage, joy, etc., that we can plant at will whenever we choose. (We also have a capacity to plant weed-seeds of distrust, envy, unforgiveness, negativity, etc.)
So the beginnings of Farmville are a very good metaphor for life. But is gets even better as you learn the rules of the game. Just like in life, we gradually learn how it works. Farmville moves from a metaphor to a parable about how to be successful in our personal life journey.
There are several life-lessons, but a primary one is that if you don’t work hard at your farm, it will not prosper. Farming takes diligence and devotion. “You reap what you sow”. So for Susan, the larger her farm has become, the more attention she has to give to it.
When she plants strawberries, for instance, she has to begin by plowing her plot of land and planting the seeds. Then she has to fertilize the fruit to expedite healthy growth. There is always the waiting period between planting and harvesting, but if the strawberries are not picked on time she can lose everything she’s invested!
Like in any relationship, marriage for example, we have to lovingly and diligently prepare the soil of our hearts (keep them soft, rather than letting them become crusty or weedy) and then plant our seeds of positive, loving, respectful words. If we slip in weed-seeds of anger or unforgiveness, they can quickly overtake the good crops and destroy all that we have invested.
One more thing I love about Farmville is that you can go onto your neighbours’ farms, maybe when they are away or sleeping, and you can fertilize, water, or even harvest their crops. The concept of helping your neighbours on their farm is something the Mennonites have always done well, and have all prospered in the process. In Farmville, when you take care of your neighbours, not only are they helped, but you also get more points yourself – it’s the biblical principle, “Give, and it will be given to you!”
So Susan’s farm has grown from a small plot of soil to a virtual village. She has many areas of healthy crops, fruit trees, all kinds of animals, barns, stores, houses, a church, and everything else that a small town needs. She’s prospered as she’s worked her assigned circle of influence. And we will too, in life, if we learn and practice the mandate “to love our neighbours as ourselves”!
- Barry Buzza
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