“God didn’t wake you up this morning because you needed it. He woke you up because someone needs you.” ~ Unknown
Why is it people often think that they are the only ones that matter? From the time we are very young, we often adopt a “the sun rises and sets upon me” type of attitude. This really gets ingrained into a lot of people and they have a hard time seeing past it. So much so, in fact, that there are many who cannot see the plight of others because they are too busy looking at themselves and wondering how their own needs, wants, and desires are going to be met.
Truth be told, we are not supposed to be concerned about our own needs, wants, and desires. We are supposed to be concerned about the needs of others. Oh, sure, we have to pay attention to some basic needs. We need to have a viable income so that we can pay our bills and support loved ones. However, once our basic needs are covered, we should be asking ourselves, “What can I do for others who are in need?”
You know, there are many out there who are in need. It only takes a quick glance to see that. We have to be willing to look outside of ourselves so that we can see the need of others, identify their need, and make a plan to do something to help meet their need. “Is this my responsibility?”, some people might ask. Well, in a word, yes. It is. It is our responsibility not because I say so but because the Lord said so.
Jesus asked us to be responsible for one another. Let’s not get this wrong. Jesus’ “ask” is not a “do me a favor” kind of ask. Jesus’ ask is more like a commissioning. He gave us a job to do and He expects it to be accomplished. So much so that He reminded us several times in the Gospels about the need to carry out our responsibility to one another. Probably the most powerful of those Gospel passages would be the parable of the sheep and the goats.
We could spend our entire time on earth taking care of ourselves. Yes, we could do that. We could ignore the plight of others. We could satisfy our wants and desires to our hearts’ content and we could refuse to help those in need. We have, after all, free will. However, we will face a particular judgment after our death. At that time, do we want to be sheep or goats?
FAITH ACTION: Do your best to reach out to all people today knowing that there is someone who is in need of your aid.