Wastefulness

Presently I am reading “A Hunger for the Holy,” a thought-provoking book by Calvin Miller. Here are some of his observations.

An American visitor from a Third-World country was asked what was the most unforgettable thing she had seen in the West. Without hesitation, she answered, “the size of your garbage cans.” In Calcutta I more than once came across a woman picking up wilted cabbage leaves from the city gutters…Before the eyes of a starving world desperate for even discarded cabbage leaves and hand-me-down clothing, I must confess I have become another junk collector in the great “throwaway” society.

It’s true that a hungry world could be fed from what we throw away. But that’s not my point today. I’m just reminded that in our wasteful society, we need to be challenged about what we value and what we disregard or even discard.

Do we give to others out of our abundance, or do we hoard our “valuables” and waste the opportunity to share? Jesus says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38).

But we must not forget that it’s the motive behind our giving that counts. I Corinthians 13:3 says: “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

Let’s take a moment to inventory what has been given to us by a loving God. A Savior, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, gifts for ministry. Are we using our spiritual gifts to share the love of Jesus or are we wasting what He has given us?  Paul, when speaking about the gifts of the Spirit said: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them…” (Romans 12:6). Use them. Not hoard them. Not waste them. Use them for their intended purpose.

God designed you. God knows you. God understands you. God invested in you. Are you squandering His investment, wasting His valuable gift? Or are you giving generously from a heart of love?  

“Teach Me, Lord” from “Serenity”