Blessed To Be A Blessing? Do We Really Believe We Are?
/The audacity of arrogance screams from the bleachers of the PRESENT. Time has never avenged audacity's blood lust and eternity has not reached its fill of arrogance's atrocities! Civilization after civilization, people after people, century after century - regardless of origin or ethnicity - people in every age have been afflicted by the perils of pride.
America is no different. We've been blessed far beyond other nations of the world. While our nation squabbles over offenses and inequalities, over differences vs. preferences; other nations are struggling with starvation and abject poverty. Most people admit the NEEDS are real, but many of those same people are waiting on the "rich" person to act to alleviate the pain and suffering.
* Rick Brown wrote an interesting article on this subject, and he offered some startling statistics that should shock the average American.
Rick took the median household income in America for 2013 which was $51,939.00 and plugged in two adults and one child for an average household size of 2.58 people and determined that by world standards, the average American would be in the top 5.9 percentile of the world's wealthiest people. An income of $51,939.00 is 17.2 times the global average.
The Apostle James, in James 5, reminds us that our blessings should not be considered our luxuries, but blessings intended to bring God glory and benefit others. It's not about us, it's about others. Our blessings are all about the God we serve. It's all about Him. It's all about Him getting the glory out of our benevolent story. When we love our neighbor as our self, we will feel the responsibility to do something about:
- the 21,000 people dying every day due to hunger or hunger-related causes. That's one person every four seconds.
- 750,000,000 (that's 750 million) people - about 1 in 9 - who lack safe drinking water. And more than twice that many, 2.5 billion people - about 1 in 3 - don't have access to improved sanitation.
- 17,000 children under the age of five who are dying every day.
And we complain about what?
Oh God, help us. Help us to curb our groaning's and throttle our tongues. Help us to realize our many blessings, and offer our feelings of entitlement to a rugged altar of consecration. May our likes and our dislikes please You, O' God. May our petty complaints cease and may our motives serve to inspire others in the mission of Jesus. May we bind together to save nations with righteous works of justice and clarion calls of Gospel salvation. May the Church rise up and answer the bell!
It's now "past time." It's not half-time.
Not only must we make a difference, we must BE the difference.
Blessings,
Pastor Hutchins
* Rick Brown is a featured columnist for the Champions Mirror.