Repayment

Good Morning,

Luke 14:12-14 (NIV)
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus was telling His "host" (and all of mankind who would read His words) a basic truth that lies in almost all human beings. That would be the fact that too often we, us lowly human beings, do something thinking about "what's in it for me" instead of simply doing out of the pleasure and honor we have in the DOING of it.

This is something that we all tend to fall short in from time to time. Yes, me included...of course! I remember times when we would have people over for a meal at our house and in the back of my mind was that niggling little thought, "Gee, I hope that they serve us a good meal when they invite us to dinner." For much of my life, and even now from time to time (but not often, thankfully!), there is that little speck of a thought about the "payback" for some good deed or favor that I've done. Now, I have to say, that for the most part God has touched us and blessed us in such a way that those kinds of thoughts and feelings are less and less as time goes on. Even as our finances get slimmer all the time, it still makes me feel really good to be able to serve a meal to a friend or loved one or even, sometimes, a stranger that is appreciated and enjoyed.

That's what Jesus was telling us. We need to be doing things for the joy and pleasure we get in the doing! We need to give for the joy and pleasure in the giving! We need to help for the joy and pleasure of helping!

We need to rid ourselves of the "what's in it for me" attitude completely and for all our lives. We can go on and on here about how society has taught us our attitudes and behaviors. Okay. I agree that much of how we act, react, and respond is because of how we have been raised and taught. However...HOWEVER!...we can UNlearn these attitudes and behaviors. We can begin, even today, to remember what Jesus was teaching us in today's verses. We can start doing and giving and helping simply because we know it's the right thing to do and because of the simple joy we get from our efforts. When we reach that attitude in our lives, that's when the doing and giving and helping REALLY gets joyful and more pleasurable, because when our hearts and minds are right, that's when God touches us more firmly and His love seems to be even greater.

Hey, give it a shot! Believe me, it's worth it!

Oh, if you come to my house for a meal, you don't owe me ANYTHING! Well, accept a compliment to the chef???

Love, peace, and blessings,

David