Our Freedom Of Spirit

One of the great strengths of our society is the broad range of freedoms that are guaranteed and the freedom of spirit that goes along with them. But, as always in this life, there's a possible downside to all that freedom. It can take the form of an excessive individualism, which looks solely to one's own interests and thinks little or not at all about the needs and concerns of others. It's an isolating view of the world and of life, and it sets the stage, not only for much unnecessary suffering within the community at large, but also for the painful sense of alienation that afflicts so many people, even the most affluent.

The apostle Paul spoke rather pointedly: 'None of us lives as his own master and none of us dies as his own master... Both in life and in death we are the Lord's.' None of us possesses either our life or our gifts as absolute possessions, but as loans from a generous God who gave us both life and gifts for a specific purpose, namely, to be shared with His family. To decline to share our life and to carry our gifts to those who need them is not only bad stewardship, it is stealing from those for whom the gifts were intended in the first place.

So where does each of us stand on the gift continuum? Are we sitting on our gifts and hoarding them for some unnamed rainy day, or are we learning the God-like joy of giving gifts and talents away? Where we stand on this most basic question is probably the key to how and where we'll be spending eternity, so it will be wise to consider our answer well.