Shouldn't Thanksgiving be a...
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Shouldn't Thanksgiving be a happy time? Shouldn't we find part of our joy in helping others who have no meal? I remember what a reward I felt when a beggar came to me on the street in New Jersey asking for money. Instead of giving him a dollar or two (which he might have spent on booze), I took him into a restaurant and let him order what he wanted (for which I paid). There were tears in his eyes as he thanked me. I felt a great reward knowing that I had helped someone. Didn't Jesus tell us that whatever we did to the "least" of these we did to him?
Sometimes we don't see the person we are helping when we make a contribution in the offering plate, but then we may see a picture of someone who was helped in a church publication.
God has blessed us so that we may be a blessing! God may permit us to use his blessings for a new car or a fur coat, but the greatest blessings come when we know we have helped someone who had nothing. God did not pile riches on the 1% just for their own enjoyment because they have "earned" it.
Someone asked me how much I earned as a pastor. I told him "about $500,000 a year." He looked at me shocked. "What do you do with all that money?" he asked. I answered, "I wasn't paid that much! You asked how much did I earn." There are many who are not paid what they earn. If your talent is making money, it doesn't mean you earned more than others whose talent happens to be different, but just as (or maybe more) important as yours. A schoolteacher's job may be far more important than a stockbroker's or bank executive's, for example.
A lady in one of my churches whose husband was a banker volunteered at a food pantry, and she was so rewarded by seeing all the sometimes homeless people come in and eat! She could see the gratitude in their eyes.
When I was in Nepal we had a morning devotion that was often attended by people who came to our clinic for help. One morning a two-year-old boy who was starving sat so close to me I could touch his tiny head. It touched my heart so much I don't think I will ever be the same. Now when I see ads to help the starving I have an experience in my heart that opens up my wallet. I think how blessed we are in this country and feel that I must show God my thankfulness by contributing to others who are not so blessed.
We show our thankfulness to God by helping others!
Sometimes we don't see the person we are helping when we make a contribution in the offering plate, but then we may see a picture of someone who was helped in a church publication.
God has blessed us so that we may be a blessing! God may permit us to use his blessings for a new car or a fur coat, but the greatest blessings come when we know we have helped someone who had nothing. God did not pile riches on the 1% just for their own enjoyment because they have "earned" it.
Someone asked me how much I earned as a pastor. I told him "about $500,000 a year." He looked at me shocked. "What do you do with all that money?" he asked. I answered, "I wasn't paid that much! You asked how much did I earn." There are many who are not paid what they earn. If your talent is making money, it doesn't mean you earned more than others whose talent happens to be different, but just as (or maybe more) important as yours. A schoolteacher's job may be far more important than a stockbroker's or bank executive's, for example.
A lady in one of my churches whose husband was a banker volunteered at a food pantry, and she was so rewarded by seeing all the sometimes homeless people come in and eat! She could see the gratitude in their eyes.
When I was in Nepal we had a morning devotion that was often attended by people who came to our clinic for help. One morning a two-year-old boy who was starving sat so close to me I could touch his tiny head. It touched my heart so much I don't think I will ever be the same. Now when I see ads to help the starving I have an experience in my heart that opens up my wallet. I think how blessed we are in this country and feel that I must show God my thankfulness by contributing to others who are not so blessed.
We show our thankfulness to God by helping others!
