No one has ever become poor by giving. – Anne Frank
We are enriched when we give. Mother Teresa said, “We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.”
There is a poverty that runs rampant in our culture and it is poverty of the soul. We want more; we have less. We strive for things that in the long run matter not. We seek security, safety, wealth and things only to find hollowness in our very being. I love this quote from the character Terrence Mann, played by the actor James Earl Jones in the movie field of Dreams…
Ray, people will come Ray… They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past… They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack.
As I go about my day-to-day routine I seem to encounter people with this kind of longing. There is an ache deep inside and they cannot find a cure. While trying to accumulate power, prestige and wealth they find themselves empty to the core.
There is a solution though. It is in giving. In this final installment of our 40-day journey with the notion of partnering, there are two big gives I would commend and even implore you to consider.
#1 – Give yourself to God. Jesus invites us into a full and meaningful life. It is not an easy life as some may want you to believe, but it is a rich and purposed life that offers an inner joy regardless of circumstance. People find this life, this faith on a regular basis at Canterbury I invite you to do the same.
#2 – Give yourself for the sake of others; family, friends, neighbors, those in need. In doing so, in serving, spending your time and resources for the sake of even strangers you will find a depth of wealth and meaning that eludes the masses. Canterbury is place you may give to in this way. If you are interested in doing so, just ask me.
By giving may we find ourselves in a day where the hatred, greed, violence, and evils of this world are impoverished!
Reflect: Make an inventory of things you can give to others; money, time, talent, resources, things and make a plan to do so.
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