Thursday, July 24, 2008

It Can Be Hard To Change

"Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice." Psalm 112:5

It really can be difficult to change your mindset. We live in a society of "give me more" and "give me lots- all for myself." People brag about how they have three months worth of supplies on hand in case of an emergency, and I think for the most part there is a tendency in all of us to hoard- even a little bit. There's always that notion in the back of the mind that says "keep this...just in case." I'm trying really, really hard to get over that. Even though we've done a lot better at giving away our surplus, we could be doing so much better. We could do it without thinking.

What I mean is, when I hear that the food pantry in town is running low on supplies, I always go through my pantry and fill up a grocery bag or two and take it in. But when I should just be thinking about feeding those who need it, at the same time, I'm thinking to myself that I hope we don't need this stuff ourselves, and that I need to do some re-stocking shopping. I would like to not think that way. I think I'm getting there- but I'm not there quite yet. I've been asking God to help me with that. I would love to be more generous with what God has given us and blessed us with. We are over the hoarder mentality- for the most part we do get rid of our excess freely, but what about the stuff that's not excess?

What do you do when someone asks to borrow an expensive piece of equipment or something that is dear to you? I know a lot of the times I will hem and haw over that, and seriously consider whether or not I will get something back. That's one I need to get rid of. My husband does a much better job at this one- he always has. Someone asks if he has a tool- he always loans it to them without another thought- happy that he could help. May God continue to bless him for his eagerness to help others, and may God work on my heart more so that I can do better, so that I can be more generous with what He has given us.

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