Wiser and Happier: Special Military Edition from Time of GraceSample

Work Ethic: Share your toys

Have you noticed by now how many teachings of Christ are paradoxes (that is, they seem to contradict established principles of human life)? When Jesus said that in God’s world “the last shall be first and the first shall be last,” he really meant it. God’s economics sometimes require a leap of faith, but here’s the amazing thing--his principles work just as he promises!

Here’s an example: “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:25). You’d think that this is absurd. After all, if I give my stuff to other people, I will automatically have less. But in “Godonomics,” people who trust his words and dare to live them will find his magic and “refreshing” all over the place.

God loves it when you show hospitality . . . share food with the hungry . . . contribute to a homeless shelter . . . volunteer at a thrift store . . . mentor a fatherless kid . . . hire a disabled adult . . . guard a school crossing . . . drive an elderly person to the doctor. . . .

These things make you look good. And because you’re one of God’s people, they make him look good too.

Do you know how you look as an American to people in other countries? You look rich. You look imposing. You look otherworldly. No wonder, then, that when our military men and women give Iraqi children candy or care for the wounds of an Afghan tribesman, they completely change attitudes about our country and our people.

Maybe even our God as well.