Love is All You Need

Posted by simpleysterling on Mar 29, 2010 | 3 comments

Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go. ~ Mother Teresa

Look around you.  Everywhere you turn, there are people in need.  Do you see them? Do you see your elderly neighbor who just lost his wife of fifty years to cancer? Do you see you co-worker who is depressed because his family is falling apart? Do you see your child’s classmate who wears clothes that are two sizes two small and has no coat? Do you see the single mom with three children who works two jobs yet still struggles to make ends meet? Do you see the dedicated husband and father who is holding down the fort while his wife serves in the military?  Do you feel all of their hopelessness, their feelings of isolation?

The honest answer: most of the time, no.  We don’t see it because we are so involved in our own lives, in our own struggles, in our own desires, that we simply look the other way.  Or maybe we want to help, but we don’t know what to do, so we end up ignoring the situation entirely.  And it comes down to time; we value our time so much, that we really don’t want to part with ANY of it. We would much rather donate our money to a situation or an organization so that we really don’t have to get involved.

A prime example: Haiti had an earthquake and the whole world responded.  There were fund-a-raisers for this and a fund-a-raisers for that – Praise-a-the Lord-a we got another donation!!! And truly, this was awesome! But where are all the fundraisers now? Did you simply write your check or help gather a shoebox full of supplies and then forget the whole thing until the next disaster hit? Maybe you talked about the issue of rebuilding Port Au Prince over coffee with your prayer group and then two weeks later, the next issue comes along and Haiti is all but forgotten.

Now, perhaps this is simplifying a very complex situation, but this type of tragedy and our typical response to it happens all the time.  Why?  Because we don’t get too involved.  Because we don’t have the in-the-trenches experiences that those who actually are physically involved have.  We have an emotional detachment that keeps us in check.  And we feel better because we have written that check, or thrown change in a boot, or bought some cookies for new uniforms.

But in the end, nobody will remember that you wrote that check except for the IRS when they check those tax forms you keep in your filing cabinet – just in case.  And really, nobody is going to remember fondly that you told them you would pray for them when their wife died, their husband left, or their home was foreclosed on.

As Christians, I know that God holds us to a higher standard.  Yes, He tells us to pray, but you know what? He also tells us to act.  “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18 and again, James 2:14-26 speaks directly to Christians about how we are to conduct ourselves when someone is in need, and honey, it ain’t just about praying!

Does that mean that we shouldn’t pray? Not at all! Does that mean that we shouldn’t write that check? Certainly not!  What exactly does it mean, then? Simple… Give what you can, as often as you can, and trust God to lead you to new and fantastic opportunities to simply love and serve others.  And maybe, just maybe, that check should be hand-delivered…

Catch you on the flip side!

Ang

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