Many of you know that I live in a pretty "fancy shmancy" Woodbury apartment that I have been enjoying quite a bit. I have not so much been enjoying the amount of my income being put into renting a property each month. I have decided, mostly, that I will not renew my lease when my year is up but will look for a more modest dwelling in exchange for a more modest cost.
The absolute HARDEST thing for me to consider giving up is the in-unit laundry that I have- and most of you, when I say that, give me a knowing look.
Recently, however, I was doing my daily Scripture reading and journal and was directed to read the book of Jonah. At the end of the story, Jonah is angry that the people of Nineveh have repented (he was told by God to prophesy God's destruction against them) and that God is going to spare their lives. As he is sitting on top of a cliff over the city, watching and pouting, God sends both a scorching heat and a plant for shade over Jonah's head. When the plant dies, Jonah is so angry he's ready to die. God says to him,
YOU PITY THE PLANT FOR WHICH YOU DID NOT LABOR, NOR DID YOU MAKE IT TO GROW, IT CAME INTO BEING IN A NIGHT AND PERISHED IN A NIGHT...SHOULD I NOT HAVE COMPASSION ON NINEVEH, THE GREAT CITY, IN WHICH THERE ARE MORE THAN 120,000 PERSONS WHO DO NOT KNOW THEIR RIGHT FROM THIER LEFT?
In response to this reading I asked Abba to show me "what I pity more here in the United States that is of small worth compared to the people of Russia". It was not long before I realized how much pity I felt for myself for having to give up a washing and dryer. I was reminded how small of a thing my convenience for doing laundry is compared to what God wants to do through me for the people of Russia- and also for those He has called me to minister to here in Minnesota.
Since reading that passage and responding to the Lord in prayer I have been touched by several readings of a similar nature:
WOE TO YOU WHO LIE ON BEDS OF IVORY AND STRETCH THEMSELVES OUT ON THEIR COUCHES,
AND EAT LAMBS FROM THE FLOCK AND CALVES FROM THE MIDST OF THE STALL,
WHO SING IDLE SONGS TO THE SOUND OF THE HARP AND LIKE DAVID INVENT FOR THEMSELVES INSTRUMENTS OF MUSIC,
WHO DRINK WINE IN BOWLS AND ANNOINT THEMSELVES WITH THE FINEST OILS,
BUT ARE NOT GRIEVED FOR THE RUIN OF JOSEPH
and
WOE TO THOSE WHO RISE WARLY IN THE MORNING
THAT THEY MAY RUN AFTER STRONG DRINK,
WHO TARRY LATE INTO THE EVENING AS WINE INFLAMES THEM!
THEY HAVE LYRE AND HARP, TAMBOURINE AND FLUTE AND WINE AT THEIR FEASTS,
BUT THEY DO NOT REGARD THE DEEDS OF THE LORD,
OR SEE THE WORK OF HIS HANDS
Wealth is not a a shameful thing...it is a gift, unearned. Welath is not displeasing to the Lord, but to live without regard for the work that God is doing in the earth, and without compassion and grieving for those who have been ruined is detestable.
As royalty of the earth,
a daughter of the world's wealthiest nation,
born without choice to a middle-class, white family,
given the opportunity to live, learn, work, and seek God,
I am becoming aware that I have no entitlement to the things I 'own'
and that I have every responsibility to care for those who have been granted less.
My prayer is that God will give me a thankful heart that results in wise and compassionate decisions that reflect His own kindness.
The absolute HARDEST thing for me to consider giving up is the in-unit laundry that I have- and most of you, when I say that, give me a knowing look.
Recently, however, I was doing my daily Scripture reading and journal and was directed to read the book of Jonah. At the end of the story, Jonah is angry that the people of Nineveh have repented (he was told by God to prophesy God's destruction against them) and that God is going to spare their lives. As he is sitting on top of a cliff over the city, watching and pouting, God sends both a scorching heat and a plant for shade over Jonah's head. When the plant dies, Jonah is so angry he's ready to die. God says to him,
YOU PITY THE PLANT FOR WHICH YOU DID NOT LABOR, NOR DID YOU MAKE IT TO GROW, IT CAME INTO BEING IN A NIGHT AND PERISHED IN A NIGHT...SHOULD I NOT HAVE COMPASSION ON NINEVEH, THE GREAT CITY, IN WHICH THERE ARE MORE THAN 120,000 PERSONS WHO DO NOT KNOW THEIR RIGHT FROM THIER LEFT?
In response to this reading I asked Abba to show me "what I pity more here in the United States that is of small worth compared to the people of Russia". It was not long before I realized how much pity I felt for myself for having to give up a washing and dryer. I was reminded how small of a thing my convenience for doing laundry is compared to what God wants to do through me for the people of Russia- and also for those He has called me to minister to here in Minnesota.
Since reading that passage and responding to the Lord in prayer I have been touched by several readings of a similar nature:
WOE TO YOU WHO LIE ON BEDS OF IVORY AND STRETCH THEMSELVES OUT ON THEIR COUCHES,
AND EAT LAMBS FROM THE FLOCK AND CALVES FROM THE MIDST OF THE STALL,
WHO SING IDLE SONGS TO THE SOUND OF THE HARP AND LIKE DAVID INVENT FOR THEMSELVES INSTRUMENTS OF MUSIC,
WHO DRINK WINE IN BOWLS AND ANNOINT THEMSELVES WITH THE FINEST OILS,
BUT ARE NOT GRIEVED FOR THE RUIN OF JOSEPH
and
WOE TO THOSE WHO RISE WARLY IN THE MORNING
THAT THEY MAY RUN AFTER STRONG DRINK,
WHO TARRY LATE INTO THE EVENING AS WINE INFLAMES THEM!
THEY HAVE LYRE AND HARP, TAMBOURINE AND FLUTE AND WINE AT THEIR FEASTS,
BUT THEY DO NOT REGARD THE DEEDS OF THE LORD,
OR SEE THE WORK OF HIS HANDS
Wealth is not a a shameful thing...it is a gift, unearned. Welath is not displeasing to the Lord, but to live without regard for the work that God is doing in the earth, and without compassion and grieving for those who have been ruined is detestable.
As royalty of the earth,
a daughter of the world's wealthiest nation,
born without choice to a middle-class, white family,
given the opportunity to live, learn, work, and seek God,
I am becoming aware that I have no entitlement to the things I 'own'
and that I have every responsibility to care for those who have been granted less.
My prayer is that God will give me a thankful heart that results in wise and compassionate decisions that reflect His own kindness.
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