“What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other?” ~ George Eliot
Some live for power. Some live for prestige. Some live for wealth. Some live for comfort. Most, in fact, live for various “selfish” reasons. I’m not saying that it’s wrong to be powerful or famous or wealthy or comfortable. I am saying that it’s wrong, however, if that is our ultimate goal.
We are not supposed to be about serving our own comfort. We are supposed to be about helping and serving others. Jesus told His followers precisely that immediately before His Ascension to Heaven. At that time, He told His followers that He had one more job to do: to prepare a place for us in the Kingdom. He told His followers that His job was now theirs.
Since we are descendants of those followers — and by the virtue of our own baptisms — we are called to serve the poor and needy and to bring glad tidings to those who need to hear them. We cannot do any of that if we are completely tied up in our own leisure, pleasure, and comfort. We will blind ourselves to the needs of others if we only care about our own wants and needs.
It is difficult to hear this message because we pretty much spend our lives looking out for our own wants. From the moment a baby interacts with the world, it is to seek out that which is pleasurable, comfortable, or rewarding. If something is not liked, it is rejected. If something is liked, it is sought again and again. Another person is generally not a part of a baby’s equation unless, of course, that other person is providing something the baby wants. As we grow, that mindset stays the same and gets entrenched in us.
No one likes to hear that they should care about others, even over themselves. However, that is the message of the Lord and, as such, needs to be carefully considered and heeded.
FAITH ACTION: You read it. We reflected upon it. Now, go out and do it. Make life better for others today.