More Than Earning a Paycheck

Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. (Isaiah 1:17 NIV)

It's very easy to get caught up in the work-a-day world. We get up, get the kids ready for school, get dressed, go to work, come home, get supper, prepare for tomorrow, go to bed and do the whole thing over the next day. And the next. And the next....

It's hard to remember that we were not put on this earth to earn a paycheck. Our lives are meant to be so much more than that. And there IS so much more than that. But first we have to stop the whirling cycle that we are on long enough to notice.

More than anything, life is about helping others. Most of us have a favorite cause to which we give a little money every now and then... or maybe we even give time when we have it. But helping others should not be limited to an occasional thing... when we have the time... or when we are feeling charitable. It should be what our life is about.

That can sound pretty harsh. Wouldn't our own life be a drag if we spent most of it helping others? The fact is our lives are so much more of a drag when we ARE NOT helping others. Seeking justice, defending the oppressed, taking up the cause of the fatherless, and pleading the case of the widow is what brings vitality to our lives. It makes life real and gives it meaning.

I recently heard someone say: "If you want to be happy, make someone else happy; if you want to find the perfect person to spend your life with, first be that person yourself; if you want others to love you, love them; if you want to make a change in the world, BE that change."

If we could all just thumb our noses at what the world expects of us and what we have learned that we are supposed to want, we could have such abundant lives!

Father, We know our lives could be so much more if we stopped listening to the world and started listening to you. Give us courage to do it. Amen.

Joys: An unexpected overnight visit from Cecelia Sunday night; Finding our that our new grandchild is going to be a girl!; a day full of possibilities