Is America Really Blessed?

Most people I know would say that America is the most blessed nation in the world. We have the highest standard of living across our population. The poorest Americans still live better than 99% of the rest of the world.  Most American families own at least one car, have access to healthcare, and the average American household nets just shy of $52K per year.

On the surface is would appear America is blessed by God! But is it?

Sounds like a dumb question, I know, but I find myself pondering this as I was reading Matthew 5 again this morning.

Jesus seems to flip the American definition of “blessed” upside down.

Blessed are the poor in spirit… (verse 3)

Blessed are those who mourn… (4)

Blessed are the meek… (5)

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness… (6)

Blessed are the merciful… (7)

Blessed are the pure in heart… (8)

Blessed are the peacemakers… (9)

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness… (10)

Blessed are those who have the most stuff… (Wait!!! that one is not in there!)

Blessed are those who go to church every Sunday… (Really?)

Blessed are those who give 10% of their income to the church… 

(Nope, Jesus never said this)

It seems that when Jesus tells us what it means to be “blessed”, His teaching is contrary to what we as Americans define “blessed” to be, even American Christians. But Jesus said it so plainly in Matthew 5. 

How did I miss that?

 

Lets look at some facts

Sure Americans have more income than 99% of the world, but we also have more debt. While 1/3^rd of the world lives on less than $2.00 per day (less than $1,000 per year) those same people have almost no debt. According to NerdWallet's 2015 American Household Credit Card Debt Study, the average American household has more than $90K in debt (mortgage, credit, school, auto, private).  This puts the U.S. second worldwide behind only Japan. But don’t worry, we’re gaining fast.

This debt binds most Americans to the rat race that is our daily jobs, working hard to pay off that loan just in time to trade in the old Nissan for a new Audi that we can’t afford, only to go deeper in the hole. We work overtime to climb the proverbial corporate ladder so we can get respect, and boast about the promotion we earned all the while we drown in our own busyness looking out the window of our corner office.

The American Dream, right?

ABC news reports that Americans work more hours than any other nation, take less vacation, and retire later. If that isn’t enough we have just peaked at a 30 year high in suicide-rate with suicide now being one of the top 10 causes of death in the U.S. That’s 47^th of the 196 Geo-Political nations in the world; the 76^th Percentile in the most prosperous nation in this planet’s history.

Yea, that doesn’t sound so blessed to me… So many of us are trapped in our own personal hell, thinking we’ll find joy and fulfillment in the next job, car, house, or other idol.

It makes me consider whether we own things or do they own us…

Some perspective

In traveling to third world nations, I’ve seen many of the poorest people find contentment in the simplest things. Though they have almost nothing, they value everything.  They have no debt because credit doesn’t exist in their world. If they can’t buy or build a home, they don’t have one.  I’ve seen Christians in Kenya and Congo praying for God to give them their daily bread because they literally don’t know where their next meal will come from.

And you know what? God comes through!

They put all of their faith in God, and literally depend on Him to provide or they starve. There’s no Plan B, food-stamp card, or soup kitchen. The homeless shelter is outside the village on the dirt. They’re in a situation where if God doesn’t come through, they die. And I’ve been learning from them that is a good place to be.

Don’t believe me? Read 1 Kings 18 and see how Elijah the prophet fared when he put it all on the line and trusted God to come through in front of 450 prophets of Baal.

I like to recite the Lord’s Prayer but I’d freak out if I didn’t know where my next meal is coming from. Heck many of us freak out because we don’t know what is going to happen to our 401k’s when the market drops 300 points because interest rates went up a quarter-point.

The American Dream

The American dream and the Gospel just don’t mesh well. One says you can do anything if you work hard enough, and if you do, you will get everything you deserve.

The other says you must be willing to lay down your life, leave everything, give it all away, and follow a homeless King… and (by the way) you will not get what you deserve.

Let me be clear, I’m not an ungrateful American. I do love this country and appreciate the many freedoms we do have. I spent my entire childhood wondering if my dad was going to come home from his deployment. He served 30+ years and retired a 3 Star General in the U.S. Army. I have some semblance of what it is to sacrifice, and I know freedom isn’t free. You won’t see me arrogantly taking a knee during the National Anthem.  Please don’t misunderstand what I’m saying here.  I’m not anti-American.

What I am saying is that God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2) and does not love America more than He loves other countries. He did not pummel Haiti with Hurricane Matthew only to push it aside of Florida because He loves America more.

The Gospel is not for America only, it is for all of humanity. We must be careful not to catch ourselves in a puddle of narcissism believing that God’s plan hinges on America.

Jesus is not a white guy with a Make America Great again hat, walking around in His Toms sandals, flexing an Uncle Sam tattoo on his left arm. He is the resurrected Son of God who lived among the poor, ate with sinners, owned nothing, gave away everything (including His own life), all because His Daddy loves you and wants you to love Him too.

When you realize that, I mean truly realize what God has done for you, wiping away the wrongs you have done so you don’t get the punishment you deserve, then you will know what it is to be blessed, regardless of what nation you live in.

Grace and Peace.

The Idolatry of BIG THINGS

In America we like BIG THINGS.

Large houses, Super Size French Fries, Big Trucks, The Super Bowl, Foot-long Subs, the list goes on and on. We’re obsessed with measuring things, and “mine has to be bigger than yours.” I’m not sure what the root of all of that is, maybe it’s pride. Maybe it’s how we validate our self-worth, or gain approval from others.

Even in American churches we like BIG THINGS. When I tell someone about the church I was a part of planting 3 years ago, the first question I inevitably get is “How big is your church?”

Maybe it’s because Mega-churches are looked at as very successful with all of the lights, huge budgets, fancy buildings, and large crowds. If the measurement of success is size, they are certainly successful. But should that be the measurement?  It shouldn't be how we do BIG church, but rather are we making disciples?

I’m sure there are mega-churches that do, and I’m by no means “anti-church” (like I said I helped plant a church 3 years ago), but the more I grow as a Christian and experience things from Large Gospel crusades with 20,000+ unreached people in India (BIG), to one-on-one interactions with a dude who used to question whether there really is a God (Small), the more I’m convinced that Bigger isn’t Better.

Let me clarify…

In the Book of Acts Chapter 2, we see the first large conversion of people into the Christian faith. Verse 41 says “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.”

Three Thousand!!!

This was the Apostle Peter’s first sermon and he must have nailed it because he had a huge alter call!!! Kudos to him because I’m lucky if one person even asks for prayer when I preach!

But what is interesting after that is the subsequent conversions to accept Jesus as the Messiah, are all individual and personal:

• In Acts 8, Phillip interacts with some Samaritans, Simon the Sorcerer, and an Ethiopian Eunich.  No numbers are referenced as to how many Samaritans accept Jesus.
• Saul (Paul) has an encounter on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, which leads to his conversion:
• Cornelius in Acts 10.
• The Proconsul in Acts 13.
• Lydia and the Jailer in Acts 16.
• Dionysius and Damaris in Acts 17.
• Crispus and Apollos in Acts 18. 

Do you see aside from the initial 3,000 who were cut to the heart (Acts 2:37) all of the subsequent people who placed their faith in Jesus were small by comparison? Even the when it says people were added, Luke doesn’t give a number like in Acts 2.

Having been overseas in front of thousands of people preaching the Gospel, I’ve seen many people raise their hands as a sign of professing their faith in Jesus. I’m not saying their desire isn’t genuine, but do they truly know what they are committing to? I’m not so sure we can teach that in a 20 min Gospel message. It’s taken me years, and I am continuing to learn what the cost of following Jesus is.

Conversely, having spent hours and hours listening, talking, and teaching the individual, I'm finding when a person decides to place their faith in Jesus, they have a much better understanding of what that entails. This doesn’t mean they have to fully comprehend everything or have read the entire Bible, but rather they know enough to say they’re willing to leave everything to Follow Jesus.

It bothers me to hear a sinner’s prayer conversion. I think it’s something the western church has adopted as a tool to get the appearance of large-scale conversion. But can I challenge it on a few fronts?

• Nowhere in the Bible does this prayer exist, or is even referenced
• If the people praying this prayer have to recite the words you are telling them, do they truly understand what they’re saying in the first place?
• What is our motivation behind it?

What would the world look like if we took the approach that the early church did in Acts? Now I’m not saying leave your job, wander the desert, and face significant persecution. Rather, what if we engaged people in the natural rhythms of our lives? And not just church leaders, Pastors, and Evangelists, but EVERYONE?

If everyone just lived with eyes open to the people around us, not looking at the utility in them (what we can get from them) but as real people. People God created, loves, and values… And engaged them. Made friends with them. Loved them. Invited them to meals, events, activities, you know the things you and I are already doing every day…

I have to believe God would open doors for us to be a light to them; to share what He’s done and doing in our own lives, not to be preachy but to be a demonstration of His love.

If each of us did that, to just one person a year, the size of the church (body of Christ not a building) would double each year. Think about that!

I’m not suggesting any one person make 5,000 disciples. Just one! And to do so in the natural rhythms of your life!

I recently read a book that told of an overweight, tattooed, bearded dude named Josh Stump (pictured right) who owns a Cigar store in Nashville. This man is passionate about two things: Cigars and Jesus (not necessarily in that order).

(I know some are already judging him for selling tobacco products that lead to cancer & death) Please Stop it!

So people come into his shop and interact with him on a regular basis. He doesn’t have to be preachy but gets to know people, build relationships and in time they inevitably leads to talk about Jesus in some way.

This man is meeting people who would never step foot inside of a traditional church, and reaching them IN A CIGAR STORE. He said “they (the people he interacts with) come for relationships, community, and to talk about religion. Yet they would never go to a traditional church. And I fear that if they did go to a traditional church, they wouldn’t engage in the same depth of spiritual conversations that they do here in my shop.”

My friend, TJ even went there last week and met him, watching customers come in an engage in conversations, which inevitably led to Jesus. It was amazing! People like Josh Stump aren’t trying to do anything big, they simply meeting people in the natural rhythms of life and being intentional about interacting with them. When he does that, Jesus just sort of comes up because it’s who Josh is! He sees people as God’s creation not as customers from which he gets money.

People would say that Josh owns a Cigar store. I’m going to suggest that it’s a ministry, reaching people more effectively than many churches do, and they also happen to smoke cigars.

My friend Noah does a similar thing at his tattoo shop called Noah's Art.

Kind of tears down our preconceived ideas of what the church is supposed to look like doesn’t it?

My point is this… We don’t have to do BIG things to make a BIG difference. If we each do small things, a lot of small things, BIG things will result. But we have got to stop limiting things to “church buildings” and “Sunday mornings” and be intentional about living it all week.

Lydia, who was a first-century affluent clothing dealer and was led to faith by the Apostle Paul in Acts 16. She went on to build the Church in Philippi along with a formerly demon possessed slave girl and a Jailer. It started with three “ones” and went on to become the only healthy church Paul wrote a letter to in the Bible.

What if we all lived missionally like Josh Stump does. Just met people in the natural rhythms of life, and engaged them in a kind and friendly manner, about Jesus? Not the big crowds. Just went after the one. But we all went after a “one”....

Seedless Watermelons...

Up until about 50 years ago Seedless Watermelons didn't exist. All watermelons had seed inside them, which you had to wrestle through and spit out on those hot summer days. 

Did you know, a single watermelon contains about 600 seeds, each of which can create a new watermelon vine? And a single watermelon vine can grow up to three watermelons at a time! 

That means one watermelon can potentially create 600 vines, and the 600 vines can produce 1800 watermelons in one single season. Now that's a lot of watermelon!

About 50 years ago scientists learned how to remove the seed property by using a drug called Colchicine (a chromosome-altering chemical) and more recently by using genetic tricks to modify their chromosomes (GMOs). Now we can enjoy delicious watermelon without having to spit out those pesky black seeds. 

But that's not how God created it, is it?

I can't help but think somewhere along the way, the church started acting like the seeds were taken out of us just like the seedless watermelon. Instead of planting seed through being God's love to others and making disciples, we relegated it to inviting others to church. We make our churches as attractional as we can with the hopes that someone we invite might come, and they might encounter God.

But aren't we supposed to be that vessel, not the church building, a program, or Sunday-morning production? We're told by Jesus Himself to "Go and Make Disciples" (Matthew 28, Mark 16), and the only parable that Jesus fully explains is the parable of the sower (Matthew 13, link below) which is about SOWING SEED. 

We can't just go to a church building to “get fed”, invite our friends, sing some worship songs, hear a good sermon, but never reproduce ourselves, or better said reproduce "disciples of Jesus" (God knows we don't need disciples of Trevor). 

A Seedless watermelon may taste good, look good, even look like the real thing, but it does not have the ability to reproduce itself. It can only grow from a single vine.

Jesus is our vine and His vine multiplies through The branches. We are His branches. Let us stay connected to the vine (Jesus) and bear much fruit for His glory through being intentional about making disciples! He alone is worthy!

Ask yourself, what kind of watermelon are you?

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Drops...

A bunch of drops creates a splash, a bunch of splashes creates a wave, a bunch of waves creates a tide, a bunch of tides can flood the earth...

I want you to take a second and really look at this picture. You may have seen this recently in the news. This is Omran, a 5 year old Syrian boy who was recently rescued from a bomb that hit his home in Aleppo Syria.

I find myself staring at this picture until my eyes well up and it becomes blurry. I ask myself so many questions to which I have no answer. Why am I crying but this boy is not, isn't he the one who is wounded? Why does he have to be a victim of war and not me? What if this were my son? What would my response be? Would I feel any different?

I want to ask God why He allows this to happen, but He'd probably just ask me the same question...

So, I struggle because I'm just one person, in the most privileged country in history. I used to be able to ignore this stuff; pretend like it doesn't exist. But that all changed when I went to Africa last year and played with 77 orphans. They have names, faces, laughs, tears, and hugs. They're not just TV commercials, they are Omran... They're fearfully and wonderfully made in His image (Psalm 139:14).

I'm not okay with this picture... But what can I do?

I thank God this young boy is alive because there are thousands more in his country that are not. There's work to be done, and it starts in our own communities and extends to the ends of the earth.

I'm not asking you to change the entire world by yourself. I know I can't... But I can be a drop to someone... And you can be a drop to someone, somewhere; because if we all can just do one thing, a bunch of "one-things", then we'll make a splash. And if we keep making splashes, waves will follow. And if we can generate enough waves, the tide will roll in and flood the earth with God's love!

My prayer for us all: "Father, help us to see people like you do..."

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'" Matthew 25:40

What Does the Evidence Conclude?

I have a sin problem. Let’s be honest, we all have a sin problem. It’s in our nature since the fall in the garden (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6). Certainly if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, then your sin is forgiven. But that doesn’t give us the liberty to continue to sin, and justify it because we know we’re forgiven. That’s trampling on grace, and crucifying Jesus all over again. To live like that is to not truly understand what Jesus did on the cross, and to not truly have repented. #CheapGrace

In John 8, the Pharisees tested Jesus when they presented Him with the adulterous woman. Jesus is interrupted while teaching outside in the temple courts and the Pharisees want to see Him obey the Jewish law and permit them to stone the woman.  They didn’t need Jesus’ permission, but rather wanted to see if He would contradict His teachings.

Even knowing that the law permitted Jesus to stone the woman, He challenged permissive culture, and demonstrated grace by pushing back and stating that whoever is without sin may cast the first stone. One by one, oldest first, the ashamed Pharisees dropped their stones and walked away. Jesus asks the woman “where are your accusers?” and she tells Him they’re not here. Jesus closes the interaction with “neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.”

Jesus has a special place in his heart for sinners. That’s why He died for every single one of them; you and me included. When you read through the Gospels, the harshest words Jesus spoke were not directed at the sinners. They weren’t even directed at Satan when He was tempted (Matthew 4)…. They were directed to the Pharisees; those who were self-righteous. If I’m honest with myself, that is me sometimes… He calls the self-righteous Pharisees things like brood of vipers, hypocrites, white washed tombs, and blind guides (Matthew 23). #Ouch

We live in a broken, fallen world, with over 7 billion people living with a sin-nature. It’s easy for me to find myself looking at the sin of others and completely ignoring my own blind spots (Matthew 7), that’s why I need people who can speak into my life and hold me accountable.  Sure I want to see the world live by Christian morals and ethics, but that has to start with me before I can push that expectation on anyone else.

In the Gospels, we see that Jesus is more concerned with loving people that He is with hating their sin. He certainly doesn’t affirm anyone’s sin, but He does give everyone an opportunity to be forgiven and repent, to “go and sin no more”.

Jesus was more known for loving people, than He was for hating sin.  I know some of you are thinking "love the sinner, hate the sin" right? Well, I guess so... but consider this. How would you feel if someone told you they loved you but hated your identity? That's essentially what we are saying when we throw those words out there.

Ask yourself this question: If you died right now, and a private detective did a thorough, detailed, objective investigation of your entire life. He went through your finances, what you did in your free time, interviewed your family, friends, co-workers, boss, and neighbors, looked through your Internet browser history, smartphone, books you read, and so much more… Would the investigator objectively conclude that you were someone who placed his or her faith in being a disciple of Jesus? Is there conclusive evidence?

While I don't agree with the whole transgender “identity” issue (God does not make mistakes), homosexual lifestyles, abortion, and many other social issues, I must be careful how I engage the people around me. Am I holding stones? Or am I listening and engaging them in discussions? How about you?

We as the church (collective body of believers) haven’t exactly done a great job engaging others on these social issues. It’s become an “us vs. them” standoff rather than a discussion. Who is to blame? Probably both parties, but as followers of Jesus we should be setting the standard of love first and foremost. Instead some (not all) proclaimed Christians say hateful things, threaten violence, bomb abortion clinics, or worse use violence in the name of Jesus.

I’m not saying we should keep quiet and be pacifists, but I am suggesting that we respond as Jesus did. We don’t affirm the sin but we do love the person. Maybe then we could have some real discussion around the issue, instead of looking for ways to tear one another down. God loves all of us, even in our sin. That’s why His Son died for us (John 3:16-17).

One last thought… It's ironic that so many "Christians" are upset about those who identify as transgender without any evidence proving it to be so... Because this country seems to have many "Christians" who identify as "followers of Jesus Christ" who have little or no evidence in their lives proving it to be so...

What would the investigator conclude about you?

I Don't Have the Answers But I'm Torn....

I’m torn because I don't believe more violence creates any form of redemption.

I’m unable to reconcile this idea in our culture that violence is evil, except in war. Then it’s good.

They attacked Paris, then again in California, so now we get to attack them back.

They are bad, we are good.

If we take a giant step back, are we not as "Radical" as we refer to "Radical Muslims"? We too have bombed their land, but claim to do it in the name of “good”, justified by retaliation! 

Radical Americans maybe?

Somehow we have to stop looking at war through our own lens. It’s simply too biased.  Don’t the ISIS fighters believe in what they are doing just as we believe in what we are doing when we retaliate. They believe they’re killing the bad guys, just as we celebrate when we find out we killed Osama Bin Laden or a drone has killed Jihadi John – the face of ISIS who has used media outlets to share his execution of hostages.

Am I the only one who has a problem with us celebrating death?

If retaliation has proven anything, it’s that it doesn’t work. Evil still exists, and just as quickly as we destroy one terrorist group, another surfaces.

But I don’t have the answers…

Because I also struggle to reconcile how we could ignore the kind of violence groups like ISIS are convinced is right and justified, and not retaliate, or at a minimum defend ourselves?

I have to ask, What would Jesus do?

Jesus seemed to challenge this idea our culture has of redemptive violence.  While hanging on the cross, He had all authority and power to call down legions of Angels to destroy those who were crucifying Him, yet the words He spoke were “Father Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

When the feisty Apostle Peter defended His Rabbi, Teacher, and Messiah, by cutting of a guard’s ear (who came to arrest Jesus). Jesus didn’t thank Peter, He scolded him and miraculously restored the guard’s ear, telling Peter "Put your sword back in its place, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword.” Matthew 26:52

In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7) Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  I’m not sure how loving them and praying for them turns into dropping bombs on them?

I see social media outlets joining force to pray for France and pray for San Bernardino, and I have no problem with that. However, who is praying for the ISIS fighters? Who is spending time interceding for them to have a heart change or a Damascus Road experience?  It's not as though God is unaware that this is going on or that He needs our help because He simply can't handle this.

Is it possible that if we’d follow Jesus’ instructions from Matthew 5:44, we’d see a different outcome?

Instead we pray for the innocent and ask God to give us the power and resources to kill the guilty.

But we’re all guilty; we just don’t all know it…

Grace and Peace to you all...

***I'd like to add that I respect all opinions on this very controversial issue.  I could be wrong or misguided here; heck maybe I'll read this a year from now and completely disagree with it. I do know that pictures like this break my heart. 

For now, these are my thoughts as I truly try, with all my heart, to conform to a mindset like Jesus Christ. 

Margin in our Lives

The Good Samaritan, the Priest, and the  Levite

I’ve heard the story of the Good Samaritan taught dozens of times and read it numerous times. It's one of those Sunday School stories engrained into most curriculums, that help teach children to be good people, right?

The Parable Jesus taught is:

“A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side.  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.  He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” – Luke 10:30-37 (NIV)

I find it especially interesting that Jesus refers to the man He is teaching as "the expert in the law".  Shouldn't the "expert" in God's law know what God would want us to do when we see another in need? The expert knew who God would have mercy on, and yet Jesus concluded the teaching by telling him to "Go and do likewise"... 

Could we be "experts in the law" and need a kick in the rear to "go and do"? 

I know I do from time to time.

This teaching is not obsolete in today's culture as we should see each person as someone who God created in His perfect majesty. He loves them and so should we! Not only is it important for us to see each other as equals, and for us to care for those in need rather than ignore them as the priest and Levite did, we must have room in our lives to do so. 

Better said, we must have margin in our lives to care for others.

In our consumer and individualistic culture that promotes “self” and “super-size it”, it’s so easy to get caught up in “us”.  The American culture disciples us that we need that faster car, that bigger house, that nicer "thing".  God has blessed me with a great job so I can buy all of this stuff right?

If we get caught up in that mindset, we become a slave to it, because once you get “that next thing”, something else becomes “that next thing” that you chase after.  

But that’s not what Jesus taught is it?

I recently heard a provoking question: If God answered every single one of your prayers today, would you radically be changed? or would the entire world?

Convicting thought huh? It sure was for me... 

Jesus taught us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39).  That means we shouldn’t ignore someone who is hurting, as the priest and Levite did in the parable. We have to avoid a mindset that we won't make a difference, that's apathy. Can you imagine what Christianity would look like today if the disciples, or the Apostle Paul, were apathetic and decided that going on mission to share the Gospel wouldn't make a difference?

We should also be careful not to become too busy to take time to help someone in need.  This can be especially challenging in our culture as many of us carry lots of responsibility: working, married, raising children, and/or involved in ministry. I think this is the greatest barrier for many of us in actually reaching people, it certainly is for me. 

Our schedules so easily become full, doing many things that create no time to set aside and help someone. We're then only able to help someone when it's convenient for our schedules. Sounds selfish huh?  

How many times has someone asked you "How are you doing?" and you shake your head and reply with something like "man, I'm so busy".

(I am so guilty of this one...)

Here's the thing... Being busy doesn't make you important. It makes you busy; and busy people don't have time to help others.

But have you ever made time, sat down and just listened to a homeless, or hurting person’s story? Maybe just to pray for them or talk to them? They’re not always the result of a bad decision they may have made. And even if that is the case, haven’t you and I made many bad decisions too?  

Funny thing about grace is that it usually seems unfair until you’re the one who needs it…

I’m reminded of a quote by Dorothy Day:

"The Gospel takes away our right forever, to discriminate between the deserving and the undeserving poor.”

Another important aspect of margin is that we cannot be so stretched financially, trying to attain the things of this world, that we have no resources to help others.  If we are chasing after the things of this world and have no extra money or resources to help someone else, are we truly obeying Jesus in Matthew 22?

To create margin in our lives requires us to be intentional. We have to leave room in our day for others, which may look like leaving the house a few minutes early instead of scrambling to get out the door. It may mean buying a lesser expensive option and setting aside some funds for a person in need. More than anything, it’s making room in your life for God to use you according to His perfect plan!

We don’t know why the priest or the Levite walked by the man that was beaten half dead. They could have been too busy. They could have been apathetic or maybe not had any extra money or resources to offer him or help him with. It could have been that their hearts were so hard that they did not hurt to see someone in need.

My challenge is that we pray that God would teach us to see others the way He sees them (and sees you as well). It just might change the power of the Gospel to you! If we start seeing others as God sees them, we’d stop ignoring the hurts of others and love them like Jesus wants us to.