To whom much is given...
Yesterday, we went to the Salvation Army shelter in Oakland to celebrate Valentine's Day. I met a junior in high school named Matt (name changed for protection of the student), who attended Island High in Alameda. Perhaps the most poignant moment of the night was when I asked him, "Oh, so you drive to Alameda every day?" to which he responded, "No, I take two buses." He was very matter-of-fact about it, but when the words came out of his mouth, I was shocked by my ignorance. My eyes were opened to how much I take things for granted. A car seems so simple to me, but for this young man, it's something he could only dream of having. He doesn't even have a driver's license yet.
I'm so accustomed to my way of life that it's so easy to forget that I'm privileged and have been given very, very much. I feel so average around our church people that I forget that with respect to the rest of America--and the rest of the world, for that matter--I would venture to estimate that my standard of living is among the top five to ten percent. Many Americans don't have cars or computers; still more don't have a higher education. Most of all, these people don't have the spiritual community that I am surrounded by.
I have been given very, very much. Why should I have what I have when the world around me can only dream of it? I've been so blessed--physically, socially, economically, and spiritually. Why me? I don't deserve any of it, yet it's given freely. What shall I do? Hoard it all and continue to amass this blessing for myself? Dump it all out and throw it away, give it away? No, I need to steward it, grow it, and share it. It has been said, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked," and, "The man with two tunics should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same." I have more than enough because of Christ; I must share what I've received from God so as to bring His blessings into the lives of others.