Isn't it interesting how caught up we get in society's rules of engagement? You must have satelite/cable, you must have a front loading washer, you must, you must, you must increase your bust....sorry, I went somewhere else. Anyway, we have gotten so used to advertisers and demographic researchers and the jones' telling us what to do that we get confused as to what it is we really "need".
We hear so much in the news these days about returning to living within our "means". What about the concept of living within our "needs"? Is it so politically incorrect to just have what you need? Is it so bad to actually live our lives in the pursuit of our needs? So much waste in this country alone with those things that we thought were going to fulfill us, but didn't so we sold them at our yard sale for some other poor sap to take home and wonder....."why did I need this?"
If we only shopped for what we needed what would that do to our budgets to be able to give and make a difference in someone else's life? What is the rationale when at the electronic store staring at the newest and best and biggest gadget that replaces the one we already have that works perfectly, except it's not the newest model. I recently heard a gentleman exclaim that being asked to give away his hard earned money to charity and not to the fund to buy his new home theatre was extortion and he would have no part of it. Extortion........really?
What have we been lowered to? Where are our hearts? Where are our morals? Oh yea, they must have been subject to extortion as well. I wonder where we are going as a nation. I look around my own house and am completely embarassed by the gluttonous purchases my family and I have made in our lifetime. Plus, I am tired of dusting it, cleaning it, washing it, polishing it, picking it up, looking at it, etc. etc. etc. If I got rid of everything I do not need I could invite another family to live with me.
We are numb. We are numb to those people around us who are hurting for just basic human needs. Love, hugs, clothes, food, shelter, money..... How did we get here? In some ways I think that the more it's put out there for us to be aware of it is one way we have become so numb to the pictures, videos, articles and other mediums that used to make us jump into action. Now it's just one more in our already full compassion bank.
Do we not think we can make a difference? Do we not know where to start? Do we not know how to give? Do we not know what to give? Take an inventory of what you have to give, inside and out. Then make a list of who may need something you may have. Start with just two things. Whether it be emotional gifts or material things, just the act of giving can jump start you into wanting to do more. "What you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me" but the bible also says in the next verses, "what you have NOT done unto the least of these, you have NOT done to me." Stew that one in your brain for a minute or two.
We hear so much in the news these days about returning to living within our "means". What about the concept of living within our "needs"? Is it so politically incorrect to just have what you need? Is it so bad to actually live our lives in the pursuit of our needs? So much waste in this country alone with those things that we thought were going to fulfill us, but didn't so we sold them at our yard sale for some other poor sap to take home and wonder....."why did I need this?"
If we only shopped for what we needed what would that do to our budgets to be able to give and make a difference in someone else's life? What is the rationale when at the electronic store staring at the newest and best and biggest gadget that replaces the one we already have that works perfectly, except it's not the newest model. I recently heard a gentleman exclaim that being asked to give away his hard earned money to charity and not to the fund to buy his new home theatre was extortion and he would have no part of it. Extortion........really?
What have we been lowered to? Where are our hearts? Where are our morals? Oh yea, they must have been subject to extortion as well. I wonder where we are going as a nation. I look around my own house and am completely embarassed by the gluttonous purchases my family and I have made in our lifetime. Plus, I am tired of dusting it, cleaning it, washing it, polishing it, picking it up, looking at it, etc. etc. etc. If I got rid of everything I do not need I could invite another family to live with me.
We are numb. We are numb to those people around us who are hurting for just basic human needs. Love, hugs, clothes, food, shelter, money..... How did we get here? In some ways I think that the more it's put out there for us to be aware of it is one way we have become so numb to the pictures, videos, articles and other mediums that used to make us jump into action. Now it's just one more in our already full compassion bank.
Do we not think we can make a difference? Do we not know where to start? Do we not know how to give? Do we not know what to give? Take an inventory of what you have to give, inside and out. Then make a list of who may need something you may have. Start with just two things. Whether it be emotional gifts or material things, just the act of giving can jump start you into wanting to do more. "What you have done to the least of these, you have done unto me" but the bible also says in the next verses, "what you have NOT done unto the least of these, you have NOT done to me." Stew that one in your brain for a minute or two.
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