The Almighty Insurance Company

1 Peter 5:6-10

         This passage reminds me that we are not immune from all sorts of evils, sadness and tragedy. Someone once said that life is not about what happens to you by how you react to what happens to you. Sometimes we may think that if we are faithful enough and prayerful enough we will be spared from, well......life. Life is full of both sadness and seemingly wonderful things as well. Being graced is not based on having all of one and none of the other.

         When I was asked to speak to my church on tithing, I did so along with many other people. The pastor only asked 2 things. Speak from the heart and speak with conviction so that the parishioners honestly consider putting the church into their household budget. One person who spoke however conveyed that they found that when they gave good things happened to them. I cringed. NO!! But it was out there for everyone to hear. Giving is from a heart full of thankfulness and generosity. Giving is not an insurance policy with the Almighty. No one is immune from life's ups and downs. Being monetarily wealthy does not necessarily make you happy.

          About 10 years ago I was asked on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I spoke no Spanish so I was sent more as an observer and to help in any way I could.  The huge take home message was seeing how very happy and joyful these people were. They lived in huts with dirt floors, barely livable by our standards. And yet, they shared what they had and were joyful, faithful, thankful people. It was a punch in the stomach indicting the way most Americans live and are still not happy.

            The message that I hear today in this passage is that we should remain humble and alert to God's love no matter what we have and no matter what happens. Since a vast majority of people reading this, especially in the USA are living luxuriously compared to the rest of the world, the caution is to be to humble for sure and absolutely thankful, but more so, do not think you are better than anyone else because of what you have. We are all equally loved as God's beloved children. 

          Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Material things and money can give you a sense of being better, it is a temptation to think you are better than someone else or that it buys you happiness or can buy you larger piece of God's undying love.  

        Keep alert. Be thankful. Be happy!

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves; keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you.