Life is too short...

I ate lunch with a colleague today who was speaking about his approach to his work and how he liked to help out his other colleagues. He kept saying that "life is too short" not to help each other out and make things simpler. Why do we hold on so tightly to the concept that WE deserve this or WE are entitled to an easier life? Here is the US we definitely live in a me, me, me culture.

I was speaking with my sister tonight about her recent trip to India and how the children there are actually better off than ours because we spoil ours so, teaching them that they are entitled to all that the world has to offer instead of teaching them that because we HAVE, we should GIVE. I look at little Henry, sleeping so peacefully, not yet aware of all the toys he could have or of the lifestyle he will live compared to the impoverished children of the world. Is there a way to provide a comfortable life for him while at the same time teaching him that those who have less usually end up with more...more hope, more faith, more compassion.

I am convicted, because one of my main concerns about considering a part time job is that Henry won't have as much as the other children he knows; we won't be able to take Henry on as many vacations; etc. Will he feel different? None of that really matters though, does it? If we raise him to feel that he needs things to fit in, then we haven't done our job as Christian parents, have we? I know many families who do not want for anything and have raised the most loving, caring children that I will ever meet. I pray that God will give me the wisdom to teach Henry that our worth lies not in what we possess but in what we give away.

"Life is too short."