Are You a Leaver or a Taker?

Our culture, our planet, our futures depend on the answer

My son sent me a book called Ishmael, written by philosopher Daniel Quinn. He said, “This book changed the way I think about life.” A profound statement like that cannot be ignored so I read this book.

The premise of the book is that there are two kinds of people in the world: Takers and Leavers. Leavers represent man before the agricultural revolution, for the most part, although there are still some Leavers in the world today. Takers represent those who change the earth for their purposes. Most of our culture is now Takers — which defines most of us by default because our culture is embedded in the way we approach life. And we are embedded in that culture and have, most likely, never thought of a different way.

Takers generally take what they want or need regardless of the consequences to the earth or even other people groups. Takers take more than what they need, kill animals or even humans who get in their way or encroach upon what they want for themselves. Takers disrupt the natural order of things — damming up rivers, cutting through forests, and flooding valleys to create what they want.

I’m sure it’s not hard to identify who the Takers and Leavers have been throughout modern history. I’m sure you can call to mind recent examples.

Leavers usually only ask to be left alone, for Takers to leave them as they found them and for them to be able to live their lives in Leaver fashion. Takers, by nature or choice, can’t seem to stop taking.

Periodically, as I read the book, I called my son to discuss it. I would ask questions to try to clarify where the story was going or what the author’s purpose was. He would always say, “Keep reading.”

As the story unfolded, I began to see what the author was trying to get the reader to think about, and soon I was having some A-ha moments. It occurred to me that we can be Takers or Leavers in our daily lives — that the moral of the story (although it’s not the author’s intent to leave you with a moral) can be enacted out on the micro-level of day-to-day decisions and attitudes as well as the macro-level (global impacts from progress and industry as an example).

Let me provide a simplified example.

Around the corner from where I live is an elementary school. There is an award-winning natural playground where children can jump and climb on rocks and tree logs instead of plastic jungle gyms. There is a dry creek bed that runs through the playscape that becomes a trickling stream with the touch of a button, releasing stored up rainwater into a sandscape for endless fun. It’s a feast for the senses with rocks, logs, and natural landscaping where bees and butterflies find refuge. My Border Collie and I also use it as an agility course.

One day Bella and I were walking through when a man delivered some hefty Tonka trucks to the sand area. At first, I thought he was bringing them over for his children to play with but no children came. The Tonka trucks were there the next day and the next and neighborhood children were having fun pretending to be construction workers. I realized he had donated the trucks for all the children to use.

But, soon, the trucks were gone, most likely taken by someone who didn’t understand the man’s gesture. Leavers and Takers! It struck me after reflecting on Ishmael, that this type of scenario plays out around us daily — on grander scales than the playground and with higher stakes.

I recalled watching videos from Standing Rock as peaceful water protectors were pelleted with rubber bullets, tear-gassed, pepper-sprayed, and fire-hosed with freezing cold water in the winter of North Dakota because others more powerful wanted to run their oil pipeline under the only water source to the reservation. Oil exportation at the risk of polluting drinking water. Legal or not, it’s a classic example of Takers taking what they want even if the consequences are deadly for others.

Leavers usually only ask to be left alone, for Takers to leave them as they found them and for them to be able to live their lives in Leaver fashion. Takers, by nature or choice, can’t seem to stop taking.

Living like Desert Pete taught us

During one of our discussions my son reminded me about the parable of the old water pump in the desert and the thirsty traveler. It’s known as the story of Desert Pete.

For those not familiar with the story, Desert Pete was lost in a desert and dying of thirst when he found an old water pump. Next to the water pump was a note and a jar full of water. Travelers were warned in the note not to drink the water but to use it to prime the pump. If they did this, having faith in the person who wrote the note and built the pump, they would be rewarded with plenty of fresh, cool water to quench their thirst and enough to fill the jar for the next traveler.

Many desperate travelers surely were tempted to forget about priming the pump and thought to immediately drink the water readily available. But, that’s what a Taker would do, and you can see the detrimental effect that would have on those who came after.

It becomes a matter of faith, trust, and a decision about how to live when faced with a situation like the thirsty traveler, but when we choose to live like Leavers the note promises there will be water for all!

Maybe Jesus wasn’t just saying nice things about lilies and birds to make us feel good about God. Maybe he was deadly serious about getting us to see that Takers rely on themselves for provision but Leavers trust in God.

Was Jesus a Taker or a Leaver?

I mentioned to my son that I had been thinking that the principle laid out in the book had a biblical connection. Jesus often told his followers to not worry about tomorrow; he assured them that just as the birds were fed each day by the hand of God, our needs would be met too.

Jesus also shared a parable about a man whose fields produced an abundant harvest year after year — more than the man needed. Instead of sharing his abundance with others, the man built bigger barns and stored his harvests, eventually amassing a hoard. And he died before he could use all of it. Jesus called this man a fool.

Maybe, I said to my son, that the way we’ve been living — the way we’ve been told is the way of life — working as much as we can, taking more than we need, and storing for a rainy day — isn’t really the way God intends for us to live.

Maybe Jesus wasn’t just saying nice things about lilies and birds to make us feel good about God. Maybe he was deadly serious about getting us to see that Takers rely on themselves for provision but Leavers trust in God.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing (Psalm 23)

It disappoints me that the Tonka trucks are gone from the playground. That instead of daily visitors having the pleasure of using those trucks they are probably stored behind someone’s garage, forgotten or played with only occasionally by a lonely child.

It scares me to think that I might be the desperate, thirsty traveler who gets to the water pump only to find the water jug empty — left with the knowledge that there was enough for all but one Taker ruined it for many.

A real-world, modern-day example played out recently during the Pandemic of 2020 when a shortage of toilet paper in the stores occurred. As the United States scrambled to adjust to the spread of COVID 19, rumors of lockdowns pushed people into the stores to stock up on necessities, toilet paper being the one thing most were afraid of running out of.

Takers rushed the shelves to buy up cartloads of this bathroom necessity, Walmart and other retailers were slow to recognize the mania and put limits on purchases, and those who didn’t act fast enough were left wondering about alternate options for personal hygiene.

I refused to hoard anything and was baffled that anyone could be sitting in their home with closets full of necessities like toilet paper while watching news reports on television about empty shelves and the, now infamous, toilet paper shortage.

Without thoughtful living, it’s hard to live like a Leaver. Our needs, our fears, push us to consume, store, and live selfishly.

Each day we get to decide if we want to be a Taker or a Leaver. Our decisions and actions shed light on the way we view life and bare open our souls and express the condition of our hearts as well. Takers live in a state of fear. Fear that enough is never enough. Fear that they won’t have what they need for tomorrow, and fear that there isn’t enough for everyone — water, land, toilet paper.

Takers — even those who have plenty (the wealthy) are driven by fear and lack of trust. The Lord is my Shepherd but I better get to those green pastures first before someone else does. The Lord is my shepherd but surely He wants me to work hard for the provision He gives…right? The Lord is my shepherd but He helps those who help themselves…to whatever they want…that’s in the Bible, isn’t it?

A Taker won’t trust a dirty note on a water pump in the desert — wiser to drink the water now, they’ll reason, giving no heed to those who will need the pump after they leave.

Takers shot billions of American Bison, not caring that generations after them would never see the wonder of a herd of bison, millions strong, thunder across the plains, or that a civilization of Leavers would be driven to extinction as their way of life was greedily picked off one bison hide at a time.

Leavers believe that rain will replenish the rivers and God will provide for tomorrow. Leavers buy one pack of toilet paper and leave some for others. Leavers build high-quality grocery stores in impoverished neighborhoods — not because those stores will make them money but because they understand that access to fresh, healthy food is a right for all.

Leavers also understand the other truths that Jesus taught:

Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities!(Luke 12:48, MSG))

Give and it shall be given back to you. (Luke 6:38, NKJV)

What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. (Luke 12:29–32, MSG)

Leavers also abide by biblical principles of Sabbath — resting so one doesn’t fall to the temptation of overwork and overconsumption, harvesting only what one needs and leaving the excess for the poor to glean.

Old Testament biblical principles (radical by today’s standards) include canceling debts, restoring land back to original owners, and leaving fields fallow on a regular cycle to allow the earth to rest and the soil to replenish itself.

God is a Leaver. He modeled Leaver principles when He instructed the Israelites concerning the Sabbath day, Sabbath year, and the Year of Jubilee in Exodus and Leviticus.

Without thoughtful living, it’s hard to live like a Leaver. Our needs and fears push us to consume, store (hoard?), and live selfishly. It behooves us, however, to learn the act of trust that is the hallmark of the Leaver lifestyle. In fact, it’s imperative for the sake of our peace, our children’s future, and the future of this planet.

While the book, Ishmael, at times felt awkward and uncomfortable and even tedious, the questions that it raised for me have been a confirmation of something that has been on a slow-burn simmer inside me for a while, something I’ve felt stirring in my spirit even stronger since the Pandemic of 2020 hit.

I am still ruminating on Ishmael’s message, but I suppose the bookmark that I mindlessly picked up to mark my place in the book sums up, for now, what I’ve taken from Ishmael. It’s a bookmark I’ve had since I was a child, my favorite actually, and it features some pictures of wild animals (Ishmael is a gorilla, by the way) and the simple motto that I hope to live by more consistently now:

Go a bit, Give a bit, Live and let live.