For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one
may boast. For we are his handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus for good works that God has prepared in advance, that
we should live in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life
will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they
belong?’ Thus will it be for the one who
stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God.” Luke 12:20-21
Piety
"From generations of
soldiers and government officials on my father's side I inherited a belief that
no life was more satisfactory than one of selfless service to your country - or
humanity. This service required a sacrifice of all personal interests, but
likewise the courage to stand up unflinchingly for your convictions. From
scholars and clergymen on my mother's side, I inherited a belief that, in the
very radical sense of the Gospels, all men were equals as children of God, and
should be met and treated by us as our masters in God." (Dag Hammarskjöld,
second Secretary-General, United Nations).
Study
What matters to God?
Luke contrasts people whose
focus and trust is on material possessions (depicted by the rich fool of the
parable) with those who recognize their complete dependence on God (depicted by
the reference to those whose radical detachment from material possessions
symbolizes their heavenly treasure).
What matters? That goes without saying. When it comes to treasure and possessions,
Jesus has only one answer about what matters:
“Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags
for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that
no thief can reach nor moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there also will
your heart be.” (Luke 12:33–34).
Action
“For where your treasure
is, there also will your heart be.” Are we
too worried about growing bigger barns to hold our bigger IRA/ROTH/401K
accounts? Are we too worried about
building bigger houses to store our furniture, electronics, food, and
possessions? Are we too worried about
building bigger garages to store our SUVs and Mini Coopers, our Toyotas and our
Fords, our motorcycles and our boats?
The more we have, the more
we want to protect it. Is it any wonder
that a recent article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy found that during the last
recession, those will less helped more? Research shows that the rich pitched in less. http://philanthropy.com/article/As-Wealthy-Give-Smaller-Share/149191/
Vox reported on the empathy
gap research: “Even during the downturn
and recovery, the poorest Americans upped their charitable giving. Meanwhile,
the highest-income people gave less and less.
The rich also give to charity differently than the poor: compared
to lower-income Americans, the rich's charitable giving places a far lower
emphasis on helping their disadvantaged peers. When the poor and rich are
(figuratively and literally) moving farther apart, an empathy gap naturally
opens up between the upper and lower classes — after all, if I can't see you,
I'm less likely to help you.”
Now, we also are worried
about things which – comparatively speaking – may not affect many of us. Some have pointed out that we are more likely
to get sick from influenza rather than Ebola/hemorrhagic fever. However, our worry may have also clouded our propensity
to act.
That worry does not have
to remain the status quo. The U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID) has a list of 58 organizations
working on the West Africa Ebola Virus. http://www.cidi.org/ebola-ngos/#.VESYQfnF98G
The government agency
notes: “As relief and recovery efforts evolve, these organizations tailor their
work to meet the changing needs of people and communities. Monetary donations
enable responding organizations to react with speed and specificity in
critical sectors now and as communities recover. Even a small donation can have
great impact. Monetary donations save lives and money.”
Now you can do more than
just worry.
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