Pause
Everyone has needs.
We need a comforting arm or a companion for the journey;
a safe dwelling place or a square meal;
a time of rest or rededication.
From every community, every family, every economic level,
people seek help,
a source of fulfillment for the things they lack.
God invites us into a life of abundance,
where all can be filled,
and where all will be called
to become helpers, too.
Listen
A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
and favor is better than silver or gold.
The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord is the maker of them all.
Proverbs 22:1-2
Think
All through our lives, we have to make decisions about our studies, jobs, shopping, eating, behavior. Some choices are clearly good or bad; other choices are less obvious. Some are tempting, luring us with promises of power, satisfaction, wealth, or just plain feeling good. Some choices are difficult, facing us with sadness, or requiring us to let go of something or someone we love.
When we choose to live as a beloved child of God, it is our best choice, a choice that will impact all our decisions. It doesn’t have anything to do with money, or appearance, or influence, or connections, because those are all things that divide us and force us to compare those who have (dollars, power, popularity, success) with those who have not.
When we choose God, the Maker of all, we don’t measure, compare, or compete. Choosing God, we choose instead to see how we are alike, and to celebrate what we have in common: the good name of the Creator, which is worth more than gold.
Nikki Finkelstein-Blair
Pray
Remind me today, God, that I carry your name with me everywhere I go. Help me to see myself in common with all your children, rich and poor. Amen.
Go
As the hands and feet of God,
we put our faith to work in service to the world,
trusting in the One who has helped us,
named us,
and called us
to lead us to those in need.
Let us love as God loves:
with hands ready to get dirty,
with feet ready to walk far,
with eyes ready to see hardship,
with hearts ready to receive.
Let us love as God loves:
with lives ready to serve.
