This past week, I dashed over to the grocery store for some more coffee creamer and sugar, when I was asked by the cashier if I wanted to donate a $1 to a charity. While my answer was "No thank-you", and the excuse in my mind was that I was trying to hustle and get back to a meeting, I passed not knowing if the money would go straight to the people in need or to the organization, and I left with my $1.
Friday, I was strolling out of Walmart and back to campus with a few of my buddies when we passed by a family holding a sign that said "Cualquier Cosa Ayuda, Anything Helps".
While I wasn't the one driving, I still made little effort to say anything in regards to trying to help them.
But when I did say something, my buddy who was driving briefly brought up a question about 'the one lady who gave her only two cents worth'.
This hit me hard, and I immediately felt an immense amount of guilt. What was it that I had been thinking about and so focused on until now?
Answer: myself.
Luke 21:1-4
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Almost every morning at church through middle and high school, my parents said I could give to the offering, but that they had me covered, and I was good to save my money since I didn't have much.
Thinking back to how I always had money in my pockets, my wallet, my lunch account, and continue to have money poured into my education, I really have never had a solid understanding of how truly blessed and privileged I am.
Luke 12:33-34
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
The other day, I didn't have the time or heart to give a single dollar to a charity, yet I spend $5 a month, $60 a year on a Spotify subscription that I listen to while I write my devos every morning, I spend $20-40 a month on coffee to keep me going throughout my days, about $300 a year, and I’m currently in my second year at Wartburg College: a top-tier school that is currently listed at $53,210 a year.
About 80% of the world (more than 6 billion people) live on less than $10 a day.
I think if I can afford to have all of these things listed above, I can afford to help that family in the parking lot of Walmart. I can afford to give a dollar to a charity, regardless of where that dollar might go, and I can get rid of some things in my life that don’t matter so that I can give some of my wealth to others who will benefit from my money much more than I appreciate what I have.
Yeah, I might have to set aside some of my spare change, suspend my Netflix or Spotify account, or drink 1 cup of coffee a day instead of 3, but in doing something for others, I'm serving God and His kingdom because those around us were created equal, regardless of how different they may look, act, or what they might/might not possess.
$5 a month for a Spotify account, less than 17 cents a day, is going to make a difference in someone else's life? Or my $3.18 in change I got from spending $60 on groceries is going to help put meals on someone else's table.
How ridiculous does that sound?
Well, if you look at it this way......
About 80% of the world (more than 6 billion people) live on less than $10 a day, 50% of the world (more than 3,000,000,000 people) live on less than $2.50 a day, and more than 1.3 billion live on less than $1.25 a day.
......you might understand how much you could be changing the world.
Hebrews 13:16
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Throwback to 2017 Winter Jam, my best-friend Blake, decided to sponsor a kid from across the world, giving over $30 a month ($350+ a year) to a kid he didn't even know!
At 17 years old, I thought he was crazy bold, and that I could never afford to make that sacrifice.
Back then, I also got a monthly paycheck of $200+, and knew I could afford to sponsor a kid in need, but I put that thought aside, ignoring my guilt and shame and focusing on MY FUTURE and not the future God's got lined up for me.
I messed up then, I messed up this past week, and I can't continue to mess up if I'm going to claim myself to be a true Believer in God, His word, and His sacrifice He gave us long before now, and the little sacrifices He makes for us every day.
It's going to take reminding myself to not hesitate when it comes to helping someone in need.
Whether or not I think I can make a difference, I have to remember what $5 means to someone else. When I complain how I only make $7.25 doing one job, I have to remember the families in the world who make $7.25 per week, not per hour, and that don't sleep with an air-conditioner and Bluetooth speaker at night.
I have to take initiative instead of thinking about what I could do or what I could've done.
It's going to take putting my greed behind my creed, and focusing on good deeds instead of spending $30 a month on Applebee's half-apps.
With that said,
Live generously, love without hesitation, and be loved.
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