Sometimes we need a bigger prespective

I want…

I need…

How would you finish these beginnings of a sentence? 
How do you think your neighbor would finish the sentence?
What about the person on the other side of town?
The other side of the state?
The other side of the country?
The other side of the world?

We live in a country where the majority of us would probably finish those sentences with…
…a new car.
…a new, higher paying job.
…a new house.
…more education.
…a spouse.
…new clothes/phone/TV/etc.

What if you lived in such a place where you finished the sentence with…
…clean water.
…fresh food.
…medicine for simple illnesses.
…two sets of clothes.
…basic education.

Beyond how we finish the sentence, maybe our shift needs to be on how we begin the sentence.  What if we began each sentence with…
We want…
We need…

In the USA, we have much more than we really need.  Yes, I know we pair back and purge our things, but even then, we still have more and have access to more things that most.  We have education options.  We can choose an apartment, house or condo to live in.  We have aisles of breakfast cereal to choose and several milk options to go with our cereal.  We have multiple drugs for the common cold and even a choice in name brand or generic. In Grand Rapids we have at least three choices for a hospital and hundreds of options for a doctor.  

This is not an attempt to make us feel guilty or ashamed at what we have but more to serve as a challenge to see our plenty as a blessing and an opportunity to help others.  Those of us who have more also have greater responsibility.  We have the responsibility to make wise choices, to care for others, to use what we have for the greater good rather than simply to fill our own coffers.

So, with what you have been graciously given by God, how will you use it to benefit others and in so doing also glorify God?

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