There is a story in the Bible that begins in Luke 16:1. I haven't been able to relate that story to my life for more than forty years. However, last week to my great joy I got a revealing understanding of the point Jesus was making.
The story is about a cheating manager who was caught stealing. When his boss fired him the man didn't know what he was going to do. He reasoned that he wasn't capable of manual labor and yet he didn't know anyone who would help him out. Then he had a bright idea. He would look for some people who were weighed down with heavy burdens and offer to share them and lighten their loads. Jesus said the man was shrewd and that we, who follow Him, should be, too. Because using our worldly resources to help others will make friends for us; and at the same time our generosity will store up rewards for us in heaven.
Who are these people carrying heavy burdens and where could I find them? It just so happened that I heard of several different situations last week which eventually led to my revelation. First, there was a young wife who desperately wanted her husband's love and recognition and yet at every opportunity he either rejected or ignored her. Then there was the young son who yearned for his father's attention and guidance as he grew up but his father couldn't see beyond his own need for booze to meet his son's needs. I thought about the elderly neighbor who was being mistreated and threatened by her caregiver. She was suffering because she didn't know a single soul who could help her. Finally, there was a new widow whose husband had always taken care of the finances and now she had no idea how to make good decisions for herself.
It was easy to see that the people carrying heavy burdens were all around me. I couldn't miss them if I determined to listen to what they were saying. My struggle is the same one I've always had: am I willing to get involved, to share their burden and try to lighten it or just blow them off with platitudes? I've found it always requires more of a sacrifice than I first anticipate when I choose to enter in. So, I always leave some room for the unknown when I 'count the cost.' I make a promise to God and myself that once I begin I won't quit just because the going gets tough.
The other thing I've learned about this principle is that I have to help when a person's burden is heavy. Friendship goes to the one who helps share the load. All of the good intentions or promises in the world will not make a friend once the burden is lifted. The young son who grew up with a Big Brother he could lean on does not switch his loyalty to a sober father once he's grown. No matter how much the father might lavish on him the same bond does not develop.
However, if someone comes across my path and I share her burdens and hopefully lighten them I make a new friend for life, a true friend that I can trust and depend on. As a bonus God sets aside a reward for me in heaven. There are not many endeavors that reap such lasting benefits!
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label commitment. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
God's Kind of Economy
"In those days when you pray I will listen. If you look for me in earnest, you will find me when you seek me. I will be found by you," says the Lord. "I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes." Jeremiah 29:12-14
Everyday last week there seemed to be a depressing report of the work force in America. Over and over I heard the stats of how hard hit women have been. The plight of the number of people receiving food stamps, of those who are underemployed, seeking jobs or unemployed but no longer seeking jobs, and the many more that will soon be among their number were well covered. The inference was, this country is on the skids and there is very little hope and President Obama says the only answer is to trust in the government to take care of us. However, on Sunday I was ready to pray and put this enormous problem in God's hands. In reply He seemed to say, "Maybe if those who are stuggling in this financial recession knew a small part of your mother's story it would lift their spirits. Because the truth is that even when men and women have lost the plan for their futures, God hasn't."
On the day my mother, Marian, met Jesus in a little West Texas church and made a decision to live her life His way everything changed for her. In Jesus' presence she agreed to finally become responsible for her life and only trust Him to help her. The days of leaning on other people or things were over. All had failed her but Jesus promised that she would not be alone. When His vision disappeared she realized He had filled her with the peace and courage she had needed for so many years. She made a decision right then to resist the overwhelming terrors and fears that sought to control her as well as her violently abusive husband before she left the church.*
She returned home with new resolve to find her husband sitting in the living room. She grabbed a pillowcase and began to scoop all of the can goods into it. When she had gathered everything she needed from the apartment she went to where he sat and stood before him, she extended her hand to him palm up, and said, "The girls and I are leaving. We're going back to Dallas. I need the keys to the car." "Can I go , too?" he asked meekly now that he was sober. "Yes," she replied, "but only so far as your mother's house. I'll never live with you again."
Marian had been married since she was sixteen. And though she had owned a children's day care for a time, she had never trained for a job. She couldn't imagine how she was going to support and provide for her girls. But things began to fall into place. She found an apartment in a government housing complex as soon as she arrived in town. Then, looking through the Want Ads she saw the Bus Station needed help in the coffee shop. She was willing to learn the job and she was hired. My older stepsister, Susie, looked after her sister who was five years younger. There were only a few assets that Marian took to that job. She showed up on time with a smile, listened, and learned. "I didn't make hardly any money," she said later, "but I got a few tips and I could eat during my shift so the food money went to the girls."
Before long an actual restaurant downtown had an opening for a waitress. "I applied for it as soon as I heard about it," she smiled. "It only paid a little better but most importantly, I was allowed to take leftover food home so that was like a big raise to me and I learned more skills. Things were improving. I never figured to stay a long time anywhere. I was always looking for the next step up so I did the best I could everwhere just so I could get a good recommendation. But I always thought it was ironic that I would never have heard about the second restaurant if I hadn't taken the awful job working nights at the Bus Station.
"From there I got a job at a variety store. The trouble with it was it was so far away. I had to ride the bus to the end of the line then I still had to walk a couple of miles to the store," she related. However, she got a good raise and the sacrifice was worth it since she had some money for her children's needs. "I was working there at Easter and because of my boss the girls had the best Easter of their lives." When the holiday was over she asked if she could take some of the left over candy to her kids. Her boss replied, "You can have anything you want." She laughed as she related the story to me many years later, "You should have seen me getting on the bus with huge stuffed animals and big baskets full of candy, eggs, and grass. I still don't know how I carried it all until I reached the bus!"
The next job was only a few blocks from home at a high-end restaurant. There as one of the wait staff she was trained in table service and actually began to make enough money to cover the family's needs. That was when she realized her confidence in herself had changed. To her surprise, she actually believed that she could learn, she could grow, and she could succeed. After a little time she began to wonder if she could achieve the dream she had always carried.
One thing led to another and she was accepted into the local nursing program. The restaurant was only open in the evenings so she continued to work most of her way through school where she graduated at the top of her class.
For years Marian had believed she was a looser who couldn't succeed. She had been so beat up and beat down by life and her husband that her hope had run out. Once she started on her new path the problems didn't just magically disappear. Her husband continued to get drunk, intimidate, and terrorize her along with other trials, but she confronted each one with a new resolve and the knowledge that she was no longer alone. Once she put her faith in Jesus, knowing that she needed His directions and plan, in two short years she rose from a pit of despair and helplessness to achieve more than she had ever thought she could.
*See: Available Grace: True Short Stories of the Rewards of Intentional Living, "My Comforter In Trouble", pg.123. To order click on: http://sbpra.com/mariannecassell or www.amazon.com
I'm telling my mother's story with her permission.
Everyday last week there seemed to be a depressing report of the work force in America. Over and over I heard the stats of how hard hit women have been. The plight of the number of people receiving food stamps, of those who are underemployed, seeking jobs or unemployed but no longer seeking jobs, and the many more that will soon be among their number were well covered. The inference was, this country is on the skids and there is very little hope and President Obama says the only answer is to trust in the government to take care of us. However, on Sunday I was ready to pray and put this enormous problem in God's hands. In reply He seemed to say, "Maybe if those who are stuggling in this financial recession knew a small part of your mother's story it would lift their spirits. Because the truth is that even when men and women have lost the plan for their futures, God hasn't."
On the day my mother, Marian, met Jesus in a little West Texas church and made a decision to live her life His way everything changed for her. In Jesus' presence she agreed to finally become responsible for her life and only trust Him to help her. The days of leaning on other people or things were over. All had failed her but Jesus promised that she would not be alone. When His vision disappeared she realized He had filled her with the peace and courage she had needed for so many years. She made a decision right then to resist the overwhelming terrors and fears that sought to control her as well as her violently abusive husband before she left the church.*
She returned home with new resolve to find her husband sitting in the living room. She grabbed a pillowcase and began to scoop all of the can goods into it. When she had gathered everything she needed from the apartment she went to where he sat and stood before him, she extended her hand to him palm up, and said, "The girls and I are leaving. We're going back to Dallas. I need the keys to the car." "Can I go , too?" he asked meekly now that he was sober. "Yes," she replied, "but only so far as your mother's house. I'll never live with you again."
Marian had been married since she was sixteen. And though she had owned a children's day care for a time, she had never trained for a job. She couldn't imagine how she was going to support and provide for her girls. But things began to fall into place. She found an apartment in a government housing complex as soon as she arrived in town. Then, looking through the Want Ads she saw the Bus Station needed help in the coffee shop. She was willing to learn the job and she was hired. My older stepsister, Susie, looked after her sister who was five years younger. There were only a few assets that Marian took to that job. She showed up on time with a smile, listened, and learned. "I didn't make hardly any money," she said later, "but I got a few tips and I could eat during my shift so the food money went to the girls."
Before long an actual restaurant downtown had an opening for a waitress. "I applied for it as soon as I heard about it," she smiled. "It only paid a little better but most importantly, I was allowed to take leftover food home so that was like a big raise to me and I learned more skills. Things were improving. I never figured to stay a long time anywhere. I was always looking for the next step up so I did the best I could everwhere just so I could get a good recommendation. But I always thought it was ironic that I would never have heard about the second restaurant if I hadn't taken the awful job working nights at the Bus Station.
"From there I got a job at a variety store. The trouble with it was it was so far away. I had to ride the bus to the end of the line then I still had to walk a couple of miles to the store," she related. However, she got a good raise and the sacrifice was worth it since she had some money for her children's needs. "I was working there at Easter and because of my boss the girls had the best Easter of their lives." When the holiday was over she asked if she could take some of the left over candy to her kids. Her boss replied, "You can have anything you want." She laughed as she related the story to me many years later, "You should have seen me getting on the bus with huge stuffed animals and big baskets full of candy, eggs, and grass. I still don't know how I carried it all until I reached the bus!"
The next job was only a few blocks from home at a high-end restaurant. There as one of the wait staff she was trained in table service and actually began to make enough money to cover the family's needs. That was when she realized her confidence in herself had changed. To her surprise, she actually believed that she could learn, she could grow, and she could succeed. After a little time she began to wonder if she could achieve the dream she had always carried.
One thing led to another and she was accepted into the local nursing program. The restaurant was only open in the evenings so she continued to work most of her way through school where she graduated at the top of her class.
For years Marian had believed she was a looser who couldn't succeed. She had been so beat up and beat down by life and her husband that her hope had run out. Once she started on her new path the problems didn't just magically disappear. Her husband continued to get drunk, intimidate, and terrorize her along with other trials, but she confronted each one with a new resolve and the knowledge that she was no longer alone. Once she put her faith in Jesus, knowing that she needed His directions and plan, in two short years she rose from a pit of despair and helplessness to achieve more than she had ever thought she could.
*See: Available Grace: True Short Stories of the Rewards of Intentional Living, "My Comforter In Trouble", pg.123. To order click on: http://sbpra.com/mariannecassell or www.amazon.com
I'm telling my mother's story with her permission.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)