Ordinary Time

Pause

In Lord of the Rings, Frodo the hobbit complains about the times he is living in, and the sage Gandalf agrees and adds, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

We are given this time in history, no matter how you see it.  And, we are all equal when it comes to TIME; all of us have 24 hours in our days, and 7 days in our weeks. But, we are not equal when it comes to MONEY and POWER.

Let us explore some ways God’s Word speaks about the inherent inequalities in our lives and how we can handle (or not) what we have.

Listen

“Whoever is faithful with little is also faithful with much, and the one who is dishonest with little is also dishonest with much. If you haven’t been faithful with worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? If you haven’t been faithful with someone else’s property, who will give you your own?”

Luke 16:10-12

Think

What will you do with what you have? Will you cling to it, afraid to let anyone even see it? Or will you use it? If you have a hammer but always keep it in the toolbox, is it even still a hammer? If you own a masterpiece painting that all the world knows, do you hang it in your closet to “keep it safe,” or do you loan it out to a museum so all can look on in awe? When the Church holds onto God’s love instead of giving it away, are we being the Church?

You see, you have been entrusted with a masterpiece, created by the Master of the Universe. Go, look in a mirror, and see God’s handiwork. God has empowered and enabled you to change the world, today. Really. A word today can change a life. A kind act can give someone hope. God believes in you, and entrusts you with this power and responsibility. What will you do today?

Rock Higgins

Pray

Lord, all my time is in your hands. All my power, all my wealth, even all of myself comes from you. I play at thinking that I deserve any of this, instead of seeing that all that I have and all that I am are a gift — grace from you. Help me to use these good gifts you showered upon me, every second, every penny, every influential word, to your honor and glory this day. Amen.

Go

“When you get your, ‘Who am I?' question right, all the 'What should I do?' questions tend to take care of themselves.”

Richard Rohr, Falling Upward, 2011

The World will tell you to keep score by its rules. Define yourself by who you are in God, and the score loses its meaning.