“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9)
I was at the Waffle House (WH) talking to a waitress yesterday, I will call her Anna as not to use her real name. Anna is a good mom to her children. She shows up to the WH every shift on time, works hard, and cares about her customers. However, as a single mom raising 3 children, she struggles financially making ends meet, and lives paycheck to paycheck. Anna needs allot of dental work. Dentists hove told her she needs close to $10,000 worth of work which she does not have. Most of her teeth have some sort of decay, and she is constant pain. A month or so ago as we talked she told me about a program she found that helps people who need major dental work. They help pay for some on the cost, and then set up a payment plan for the balance. Anna applied for this program and was excited as she talked and though all the dental work would also be painful, she was so looking forward to have her teeth fixed and not be in constant pain anymore.
When I talked with Anna this morning I could tell something was wrong with her. She told me that her application for the program for some reason was denied. She was not sure why, but they would not help her. I reached out across the counter and held her hands and told her I loved her and how sorry I was. With sadness on her face and tears in her eyes Anna said thank you, and that she did not know what to do now.
That night before I went to bed as I brushed my teeth and looked at them, I thought of Anna. And I was saddened. We live in one of the richest countries in the world, we have to many resources, we are blessed with the ability to purchase so many things and live comfortably, yet we, including myself do such a terrible job of being generous and distributing this wealth.
Jesus, You Word tells me about your heart and your generosity with your resources and wealth. It tells me “I should have the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had,
who though he existed in the form of God did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking on the form of a slave,” 9Philippians 2:5-7)
If anyone could have an “entitlement attitude” that I work hard, I earned this, I deserve this, I am entitled to this and this is mine, it is you Jesus. For you are worthy of it all. But you did not. You resisted the temptation of comfort and entitlement, you became a slave, gave all and emptied yourself out of love for others, including me. Jesus, you modeled for me and gave me a tangible example that I am to deny the temptation that I am entitled to anything, and love and give with extreme generosity. If I claim to be your disciple, and to want to follow you and model my life after you, help me Lord to empty myself and my feelings of entitlement and love and be generous as you are.
My family, I pray today you will join me and reflect on your level of gratitude, feelings of entitlement and amount of generosity, in Jesus’ name. Please pray the same for me. God HAS blessed you my friends!
Please share with me and others your reflections and what God is speaking to you from todays reading in the comment box below.
Gary Liederbach- Lead Follower
One Direction Community
Email: garyl@onedirection.community
Website:https://www.onedirection.community
Facebook: One Direction Community-ODC
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