The person who has two shirts must share with the person who has none. And the person with food must share with the one in need. [Luke 3:10-11 (VOICE)]
Early this year, a charity event in our Florida town raised over $11 million in one auction. The top bid was $750,000 for the world’s first 2016 Rolls-Royce Dawn ultra-luxury convertible. $720,000 each netted three bidders exclusive access to Napa Valley’s BottleRock music festival along with personalized guitars and several vintage bottles of wine. $400,000 won some lucky person (and nine friends) a cooking class and dinner hosted by celebrity chef Mario Batali and legendary actress Glen Close. For a bid of $320,000, one couple will soar off on a private journey to Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Japan and the Philippines. Every year, we watch the private jets fly into town for this event, read accounts of the fabulous dinners that are part of the activities, and gasp at the enormous amount of money spent in the name of charity. It’s obvious the attendees at this impressive event have more than enough to share.
Not everyone who shares, however, has more than enough. I recently heard a teacher explain why her classes do service projects as part of their curriculum. Most of her students are poor inner city kids who have spent the better part of their lives on the receiving end of public aid and charity. She has them volunteer so they learn how good it feels to be on the giving end! They may not have money but, young and able-bodied, they share their time, talents and youthful vigor. Giving empowers them in a way that receiving can’t.
The latest newsletter from a charity we help support included a heartfelt letter of appreciation from a women they helped. Granted our little check played a minor part of what was done for her, but her letter reminded me that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive. Feeling fortunate to be a small part of changing a life for the better, I wrote in my gratitude journal, “Thank you, God, for giving us more than enough so we can share with others.” The Holy Spirit quickly convicted me: “Whether in abundance or need, you always have enough to share!”
A boy shared his fish and bread with 5,000, a widow shared the last of her food with Elijah and, for all we know, the Good Samaritan shared his last few shekels when paying the innkeeper. They didn’t have extra—in fact, they didn’t even have enough, but they all shared what they did have. Sharing that improves the human condition is love in action. We are obligated to share and not just in times of abundance or even bare sufficiency. From the ultra-rich to the under-privileged, whether we have a feast or but a few crumbs, a Christian always has more than enough to share.
Thank you, God, for always providing us with enough of something to share with those in need.
To be poor does not mean you lack the means to extend charity to another. You may lack money or food, but you have the gift of friendship to overwhelm the loneliness that grips the lives of so many. [Stanley Hauerwas]
A severely ill 12-year old girl’s wish was to be a singing star and, thanks to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, last Sunday her dream came true. Over a year’s worth of planning went into creating a full concert experience for her. The flashing lights of a police car announced her arrival and, when the professionally made-up, coifed, and gowned star exited her limo, we joined hundreds of others and screamed like adoring fans. While her security team (complete with dark glasses and earpieces) cleared the way, she and her entourage walked down the red carpet to the theater. The crowd cheered, took photos, waved banners and begged for autographs. Once in the theater, backed up by the choir from her school, she sang to an auditorium filled with 300 admiring fans.
Real estate ads can be somewhat misleading. “Needs TLC” usually means structural damage; a “handy-man special” requires rehabbing and money; “waterfront” probably has a basement that floods; “cozy” means really small and “intimate” is even smaller than cozy. “Tear-down,” however, means just that; while the property may have value, the house isn’t worth renovating. In our southwest Florida community, it is not unusual to see advertisements for homes with an asking price in the seven digit territory (none of which need TLC, handymen, have flooded basements, are cozy or intimate.) Since it’s difficult to believe there’s anything needing improvement in such expensive houses, the shocker is that some of those homes are listed as tear-downs. That hefty asking price is for the privilege of tearing down the existing structure and spending several millions more to build another one in its place.
We women tend to consider the mirror a critic, and a ruthless one at that. I don’t know about men but I suspect you fellows may not be all that different. When we look in a mirror, the message we perceive is often disparaging and fault-finding: tired looking, “bed head,” too fat, too old, or too saggy. Then the mirror starts in our apparel telling us things are too tight, too loose, out of style, too young, too old, too wrinkled, or just plain ugly! Most of us don’t hear our mirrors affirming that we are marvelously made.
I recently made up the guest list for my mother-in-law’s 100th birthday party. Shortly before the party, I will determine the seating arrangements and decide who gets to sit with the birthday girl and who gets to sit with the various youngsters. Without place cards, everyone will want to sit with the guest of honor and no one will be anxious to sit with the toddlers or near the kitchen.
Devotions of the Heart 