by Granvel Johnson
A young lady approached me last night in the parking lot of Ralph’s market as
I was putting my groceries into my car. She was selling synthetic flowers. I
was not interested. She then asked if I would give her money to help her
buy some food. Again I wasn’t interested!
If I have to get up every morning drag, my butt to work (rain or shine) why
can’t she and the rest of the people who always expect me to GIVE them my
hard-earned dollars! I figured she must be trying to get money out of me so
that she could run off and by crack or some other drug – after all she didn’t
look too clean anyway. I continued putting my food and the food for my dogs into
the car. Is it possibly that my dogs will actually eat better then she tonight?
Why did those words come back to haunt me – You know the ones from the New
Testament. “When I was hungry, you fed me not”. “When I was in jail, you
didn’t visit me”. Whatever you do to the least…you do also unto me.
The scripture does not say: Feed those who lost their job in a company
downsizing. Or visit those who are in jail unjustly. Or give help to those
who are honestly struggling to get ahead.
I bought a house 2 years ago. I’m looking for a new car. Looking for a
hot tub to go into my backyard. Took a wonderful trip to Hawaii this year.
I have mutual funds, a checking account and 2 savings accounts, but I can’t give
a hungry person a dollar. To top it off I send out the Morning Meditation
everyday encouraging others to experience the love of God – Does the term
“physician heal thy self” mean anything? It does to me today.
My aunt once told me and I need to continually remind myself “All you are
required to do is give help – what they do with the money is their business.
It’s between them and God” Needless to say I caught up with the women and gave
her $2.00, she was grateful and still offered to give me the synthetic flower
(which I could suddenly see was a beautiful handmade rose). I declined
her offer and went home to exercise and feed my dogs.
Giving money to those on the street is a struggle for me. I can give to
organizations freely (Church’s, AID’s, Children’s clubs, Library, etc).
Giving to someone on the street continues to be a big struggle for me. I
guess because I tend to judge the person and his/her motives. A motive which
I can truly never know. There is another New Testament scripture reminding me
to stop judging. If you remember me in your prayers, you know what area I
need help in.
Perhaps its called “Loving thy neighbor”.
Peace and Many Blessings
There are several games that people call “God games” because the player controls a bunch of little human-like avatars, usually created in his/her own image, or the idealized one. I have played The Sims and it is, quite frankly, addictive. A similar online game called Second Life is popular now. These games blur the line between artificial reality and real reality. In Second Life, people buy virtual real estate with real money, and some companies even set up virtual presences – complete with online staff meetings.
When I played The Sims, I noticed something about my playing style. It was almost like free therapy (well, free minus the $20 I payed for the game). When I started playing, I created a little “me” and gave her my values, my attributes and my lifestyle. Then, I played the game. Soon after starting, I crashed and burned. But, I learned something. The little life meter for my SimSelf was always low in certain areas, like “social” and “rest”. When I backed away from my computer, I realized that my real life meter was low in those areas as well. I soon stopped playing the game and resolved to enhance my real life.
I think that is the real value of “God games.” Not the ability to control and create our own little selves in our ideal worlds, but the ability to learn from our mistakes in a virtual environment, where the consequences aren’t as dire. Instead of using these sorts of games as an escape from reality, we can use them as a learning tool to enhance our real lives and make them even more thrilling than a game.
My Bible study group is reading a book called “In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day” by Mark Batterson. His premise is that Christians often play it safe when we should be chasing lions. I was thinking about this regarding the way we pray. I know that we are supposed to be humble and pray God’s will, but sometimes it seems like that is a passive way of praying, like we don’t really believe that God will do what we ask, so we’re giving him an “out”. But God says to come to him boldly. I notice that it seems like when I pray boldly, as in “God. I know you’re my Father and you won’t withhold any good thing from me. This is what I need. I know you will provide”, that my prayers seem more effective. It’s weird. I don’t think I should be ordering God around or anything, but I also think that God wants us to know that he loves us and that his will is for us to be confident of that. We can know God’s character enough to know whether what we pray is in his will or not. Does what we want involve sin? If so, then that is not in God’s will and we have no business asking. But, if what we ask is in God’s nature and fits in with what he has already said he wants ( i.e. a loved one accepting Christ, us being in a position to serve, even prayers that we get married and/or have children), then it seems that we should pray with confidence and boldness. Trust God Chase Lions!
