Excess

Excess

 

I am sad to say it has taken me close to 40 years to realize that I am too comfortable.  Jason and I have recently read quite a few books that pertain to “love thy neighbor as thyself”, Crazy Love by Francis Chan, Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne, Barefoot Church by Brandon Hatmaker, and I have also read “7” and Interrupted by Jen Hatmaker.

 On our path to becoming uncomfortable we are making many changes.   We are limiting use of all devices and game systems, we are selling and giving away a lot of stuff that we didn’t need, and spending some time nearly every day doing for others.  Even with all of these changes, we still are not uncomfortable.  I think I have a lot more to give. How much is that? I am not sure, but I think as long as our basic needs are met, aren’t we still comfortable? We talk about being uncomfortable when the A/C or heater quits working, yet the poor cannot afford these things and the homeless do not have a choice. If our stove quits working we go out to eat until we buy another one, our friends that live in an old shed cook over a fire outside. When the washing machine breaks we go to the Laundromat, our friends wash their clothes in a bucket. I realize it comes down to the fact that I am selfish. I think I deserve all of these things, but if I deserve them doesn’t everybody else?  I read that Mother Theresa always took the worst pair of shoes for herself from the donations so no one else had to wear them.  That’s uncomfortable! That is the uncomfortable that I want to be, to love others enough that I would take the worst shoes so that others can wear the comfortable shoes. Jesus died a very uncomfortable death, uncomfortable shoes won’t be that hard to bear.