A predominant thought that befalls many of us soon after landing in serious trouble is, “why me? ” The reason behind this question is the fact that we don’t deserve the trouble. Why me? Suggests someone else – not me – should go through this pain because I’m too good for this.
For those of us that feel more fortunate must remember that our blessing has been at the expense of others. As we enjoy our blessing, we should also ask ourselves, “why is it not me who is in pain? Instead of looking down on others we should stop and think, “how come everyone else died and I’m the only one that survived? ” In doing this our heart will be filled with gratefulness, humility, and respectful tribute to those going through adversity.
Sadly, the social stigma in too many communities associated with destitution results in marginalization and isolation. Even those exceptional few that help them do this as an act of mercy, compassion or charity. This is fine except that it helps fuel a suggestion that people in need are somehow less fortunate, incomplete, undeserving or less valuable. Serving them therefore is deemed as doing them some kind of favor.
But the Bible – particularly Jesus Christ -reveals a different picture all together. People in distress not only that are complete, blessed, deserving and equally esteemed individuals in their own right, they are in fact the gateway to eternal prosperity. By eternal prosperity I mean physical, emotional and spiritual fulfillment that starts here in this present world and spills over into the world to come.
A blessing is spiritual energy. Like any other type of energy, the consumer must pay for it. The price of the blessing depends on its quality (nature) and the quantity to be consumed. Now one may ask why pay for the blessing that was meant to be free in the first place? The truth is that God has given all the blessings for free. But the carriers of the blessings do incur expenses that need to be compensated by the consumer.
Let me explain further.
Ordinary energy, like oil, was freely created by God to be used by man. But this oil was created in a crude form and stored deep beneath the ground. It must be drilled, processed and brought to the pumps by our fellow men. This tedious process cost enormous resources. People that are doing this wonderful oil business for us must make a profit to meet their personal needs to stay in business. A consumer must contribute all this. This is also true with the blessing.
God’s blessings are given for free. But they are always in a spiritual form and stored in heavenly places. They must be translated in to a worldly equivalent and brought to us through our fellow human beings – the poor. In doing so, the poor incur painful costs. That’s why, as I often say, the needy are divine power stations, they carry God’s blessing for others.
Simply put, serving the poor is more than an act of charity, favor, mercy or empathy; it’s a win – win transaction that makes a perfect business sense. We must serve them not only to relieve their suffering but also to reimburse them for the costs they incur in carrying the burden of blessings for us.
The destitute did not subscribe to the pain they are going through for the benefit of us all. No rational mind would ask to be poor, sick, or disabled. Sadly, somebody had to be it, and it could be anyone. When I come across a needy person, I always say to myself, “that could be me”.
Today, if you are suffering for whatever reason (not least for the fault of somebody else) remain assured that you will be compensated. Even if people will somehow fail you the God of justice will definitely make sure you are paid sooner or later.
Dreamlife Mission 