seank.mitchell@yahoo.com

“The disciple asks his master, What can I do to attain God? The master answers by asking, What can you do to make the sun rise? The disciple says indignantly, Then why are you giving us all these methods of prayer? And the master replies, To make sure you’re awake when the sun rises.” (The Sower’s Seeds, by Brain Cavanaugh)

The above story strikes a nerve that awakens the grandeur of prayer. It also opens up the heart of life, exposing one of God’s supreme ways of pumping Himself through us and granting guidance for our daily living. The disciple came to his master, confused about prayer, looking for an answer—and his master responds by connecting the dots of prayer, God, discipline, and the rising sun. The disciple’s mind knew of these dots but never made the connection or thought to make the connection. He needed a mind other than his own. 

Dick Staub, a commentator and writer on the culture of Christianity, suggests that we each need our own Yoda. Yoda is the Jedi wizard, who in the latter episodes of the Star Wars tale mentored Luke Skywalker in the way of the force. In the story, the force was a supreme energy and power that Jedis realized through concentration and the help of a Jedi mentor. Yoda taught young Skywalker the ways of the force, sharing stories of experience and helping the Jedi newcomer to work through his own thoughts and frustrations. Yoda also mentored through his absence. When Yoda wasn’t around, Luke was reminded of him, reminded of the things Yoda had said, hadn’t said, and the lessons Yoda had given Him to build a lifetime around. 

Roy Williams, Coach of the UNC men’s basketball team and fastest coach to reach 500 wins in Division 1 history, echoes the thoughts of Staub. Williams’ mentor was legendary Coach Dean Smith, who up to a month ago had the most wins of any coach in Division 1 history. When all is said and done, Williams will probably pass Smith’s winning total and go on to capture the crown of highest win total. In an interview conducted recently, Williams admitted that 90 percent of his coaching technique and decisions were borrowed from Smith’s style. Williams is basically saying that without Smith’s mentoring, he would not coach or win the way he does. Like Luke Skywalker, Roy Williams has a Yoda. 

The disciples of Jesus channel the timelessness of the mentoring phenomena. Without their time spent observing, ministering with, and listening to Jesus, the twelve who changed the world would have changed much less. Actually, Jesus is the one to be accredited with the achievements of this relationship, as time and time again He persevered through their lack of faith and spiritual wandering. He invested multitudes of hours with the likes of these because He had a deep understanding of the progressiveness of mentoring and its potential to birth fresh spiritual lineages. And He was right. 

We will be right if we listen to the commentary of mentoring. We are right to admit that we are unique, but that our uniqueness only becomes complete through the help of others. Jesus spoke of money more than any other topic, and due to his allegiance to the subject, we owe the subject of finances our best thinking and a bit of mentoring. 

Each of us falls under one of the following headers: Financially comfortable, financially uncomfortable, or the in-between. Each group needs the wisdom and relationship of a Yoda. The comfortable need to be challenged to follow Jesus rather than rest in comfort; the uncomfortable invited to seek God rather than lust for comfort, and the rest to balance the two lessons coming from these separate ends of the divide. Yoda’s help brings balance to life and fosters an even deeper understanding of God’s presence in our financial lives. 

The trick is how to find Yoda. I have found him, and on more than one occasion. I found him when I observed my dad make a risky decision to relinquish a career as a newspaper editor for a commissions-driven career in his early forties. Why did he do it? He trusted God’s leading more than stability. Then there was the time he advised me, “Son, when there is money to be made, go and make it.” Or the time I watched a low-income family stretch their already burdened lives to give to a church expansion project, because they knew it was the right thing to do. Each of these moments rendered very different thoughts and challenges, but each rubbed off on me to produce fresh choices and decisions for my financial travels. 

Ninety percent of our future selves will be determined by the decisions we make about our Yoda. Yoda’s are not hard to find—usually, though, they are hard to trust. Yours has spoken and may still be speaking. What is he/she challenging you to do? There was a critical time in the development of Luke Skywalker, a moment where he decided to seek Yoda out and spend time with him. What is your critical time telling you to do? 

Questions for pilgrimage:

1. Why do pilgrims need a Yoda?

2. Where can Yoda be found?

3. Why is Yoda hard to trust?

Copyright Sean K. Mitchell

Sean K. Mitchell is a fundraising consultant and a creative writer. He is also the author of The Financial Pilgrimage, a book that helps Christians embrace a fresh approach to financial decisions and Christian living. For more information on the book or to contact Sean, visit www.thefinancialpilgrimage.com .