Friday, October 15, 2021
See God’s Goodness
Everywhere
In
Everyone
Leviticus 19:13
You shall not defraud your neighbour; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning.
Luke 6:31
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
Words of Grace For Today
This sounds a lot like labour rights, or as they are written in Leviticus, limits on the wealthy. The problem with limits on the wealthy is
everyone identifies ‘wealthy’ to mean someone with more money than they have.
The person with an income of $10 million a year but does not have a jet for personal use, may be isn’t wealthy, right?
The person with an income of $1 million a year but does not have a fancy house on the lake with their own boat house and pontoon boat, is not wealthy, right?
The person with an income of $200,000 a year and owns their own home but does not have enough to travel more than two times a year to Europe and one other trip to warmer climes in the winter, is not wealthy, right?
The person with an income of $50,000 a year, a small home, and an inexpensive economical car, but cannot travel more than to the mountains a few times a year, is not wealthy, right?
The person with a minimum wage job, who rents a two bedroom apartment, has a nice truck, and a small family of four who eat well, but cannot manage to save a down payment to own their own home, is not wealthy, right?
The person with an office job that pays $5.00 a day, has their own bicycle, and a rented small cubical sharing a kitchen and bath with 30 other cubicle residents in a high-rise, but cannot afford their own shower, like those on the top 10 floors of the high rise, is not wealthy, right?
The beggar who sits on the street morning and evening, usually receives enough to feed their family of three living in a tin shack and washes in the river at mid-afternoon when it is not too full with other people, is not wealthy, right?
The orphan child, orphaned by the latest virus, like millions others, has enough strength to beg for food and eats every other day, maybe, but has not stable place to live, is not wealthy, right?
The war-orphaned child, starving like 100s others in their village suffering famine for a fifth year, who will die today, is not wealthy, right?
No matter who you are, no matter your wealth, these laws of life apply: You shall not defraud your neighbour; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a labourer until morning.
More clearly prescribed for us all:
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
There are so many people in this world suffering illness, violence, and maltreatment caused by humans, and even more who are tormented by their inability to find a good purpose in this messed up world we make for ourselves and the next generations.
There is no way to make it all better.
There is no way to even start small and hope that one can make it right, from the richest sharing enough, so that the poorest have a life to live.
The only way to begin each day is to know that all people, from the wealthiest to the poorest, are God’s creatures, whom God loves, whom God sends us out to love.
We start loving all God’s people when we realize how much God has given us, not by our own merit, but undeserved Grace, which makes us the richest people on earth, for we live with God’s favour and blessings … which blessings can never be measured in material possessions, or power, or fame.
God’s blessings are measured as immense by the heart that sees …
God in everyone, everything, always, in all places, and knows
that God created it all, blessed it all, and walks with us all each day.
Therefore all is well, all is well, all manner of things are well.