| Blessing Brings Responsibility!!! |
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"A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the
man, he passed by on the other side." - Luke 10:31 (NIV)
Kevin Donaldson, President of Mission of Mercy, shares the following
statistics: "450 million children worldwide live in abject poverty,
existing on less than a dollar a day. 5.7 million of them work under
horrific circumstances, including slavery. Girls, twelve or thirteen,
sometimes younger, are forced to provide sexual services to fifteen or
more men a day. In brothels, these children are told they must pay
rent to the owner, and it's always more than the child makes from
customers. Living conditions are horrible; violence is commonplace.
There's little or no medical care, and pregnancy automatically means
forced abortion. Almost eleven million children each year (30,000
every day) die before their fifth birthday, most from preventable
diseases. More than three million children under fifteen are living
with HIV/AIDS. About 13.4 million children have lost one or both
parents to AIDS."
After reading all of that, you might be inclined to ask me, "Are you
trying to make me feel guilty?" My response would be a very
deliberate "No." But I would like you to think about these 3 words:
"Blessing brings responsibility." In the parable of the Good
Samaritan, Jesus didn't condemn the priest and the Levite for being
blessed or busy. It was because they "passed by on the other side" to
avoid a wounded man who needed their help.
Understand this: whether you do or do not have all you need, God
expects you to show gratitude! And when you have more than you need,
He expects you to show compassion! "Freely you received, freely give"
(Matthew 10:8). Open your eyes, your heart and your wallet. Don't
stand before God one day trying in vain to explain why you left so
much of what He gave you uninvested in the thing He cares about most -
a hurting world.
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