Get the appWiser 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.
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.
Scripture
About this Plan
The experience of serving your country overseas--and sometimes seeing firsthand man’s inhumanity to man--may teach you important lessons about life while turning your stomach at the same time. But recognize that God has an even better way for us to learn life wisdom, a way that continually draws us closer to him no matter how far from family or church we might be. Because of his great love for us, he would much rather make us wiser through words. In this way we wouldn’t be sadder but wiser; we would be wiser and happier. The Bible’s book of Proverbs is an absolute gold mine of wisdom for the daily decisions you must make. It will help you develop your personal values and tune your life’s agenda more closely to resemble God’s.
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We would like to thank Time of Grace Ministry for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: www.timeofgrace.org
