'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
I almost started this post out as "Little Gifts," but then this tune entered my consciousness. Following the lead of the Spirit, I changed gears and here you have the end result.
Today has not been the greatest of days. For all the myriad reasons we find ourselves having just a mediocre day, the reasons matter not. Suffice to say I've been in a blah kind of mood.
Georgie and Mary are coming round tomorrow to help me rescreen my porch. I loathe flying bloodsucking insects, and, with all the holes currently in the screening, I have not been able to sit in my hammock chair and enjoy the woods.
This necessitated a trip to Lowe's to purchase materials. I loaded up one of those fancy two tiered carts with what we will need and proceeded through the check out. When she rung up one of the items the price caught me by surprise. It was twice what I had thought it would be. Truth be told, I hadn't paid much attention as I put the roll into the cart. All the choices and tags--I find it a bit overwhelming.
I paid my bill and pushed the cart out to the car. As I unloaded I saw the three smaller items lying there at the bottom of the cart. $3.98 each - $12.00 unaccounted for. I knew right away that she had neglected to charge me for them. With only the briefest pause, I knew what I had to do. I finished unloading the car and then pushed the cart back into the store.
I went to the registers, but the cashier was gone. A guy who was probably the front end manager came up and I explained to him what had happened. My simple gift was in that interaction. Sadly they were truly surprised that I had come back in to pay.
"Most people would have just kept on going." I told them that if we give up our honesty what do we have left -- not much.
As I drove away, I felt my foggy mood lifting. The Holy Spirit had found a way for me to cut through the groggy layers and see what kind of person I am.
When Jesus talks of not being of this world, the tendency is to think physical world - that he is of the spiritual plane over the physical. I read this article many years ago in which the author explained that the Greek word translated as "world" might better be translated as "world system." Jesus chooses not to live according to the world system.
It's a dog eat dog world. We are encouraged to get the other guy before they get us. We are reminded to grab our share at every opportunity. Fight to get ahead. I try to be like Jesus and not be of this world system. Peace.
Today has not been the greatest of days. For all the myriad reasons we find ourselves having just a mediocre day, the reasons matter not. Suffice to say I've been in a blah kind of mood.
Georgie and Mary are coming round tomorrow to help me rescreen my porch. I loathe flying bloodsucking insects, and, with all the holes currently in the screening, I have not been able to sit in my hammock chair and enjoy the woods.
This necessitated a trip to Lowe's to purchase materials. I loaded up one of those fancy two tiered carts with what we will need and proceeded through the check out. When she rung up one of the items the price caught me by surprise. It was twice what I had thought it would be. Truth be told, I hadn't paid much attention as I put the roll into the cart. All the choices and tags--I find it a bit overwhelming.
I paid my bill and pushed the cart out to the car. As I unloaded I saw the three smaller items lying there at the bottom of the cart. $3.98 each - $12.00 unaccounted for. I knew right away that she had neglected to charge me for them. With only the briefest pause, I knew what I had to do. I finished unloading the car and then pushed the cart back into the store.
I went to the registers, but the cashier was gone. A guy who was probably the front end manager came up and I explained to him what had happened. My simple gift was in that interaction. Sadly they were truly surprised that I had come back in to pay.
"Most people would have just kept on going." I told them that if we give up our honesty what do we have left -- not much.
As I drove away, I felt my foggy mood lifting. The Holy Spirit had found a way for me to cut through the groggy layers and see what kind of person I am.
When Jesus talks of not being of this world, the tendency is to think physical world - that he is of the spiritual plane over the physical. I read this article many years ago in which the author explained that the Greek word translated as "world" might better be translated as "world system." Jesus chooses not to live according to the world system.
It's a dog eat dog world. We are encouraged to get the other guy before they get us. We are reminded to grab our share at every opportunity. Fight to get ahead. I try to be like Jesus and not be of this world system. Peace.
3 comments:
Got nothing much to add -- perfect blog post for a Sunday night. :)
As Pj says.
Thanks, gals.
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