Live 2 Give

Live 2 Give

So, we're reading Luke right now. It's interesting, I remember the last time we went through Luke and even which particular things stuck out to me. I wrote a post about it. I seemed to have passed by chapter 6 verses 30 and 35 without a second thought. But for some reason I came across these verses this time around and they practically put me in a cold sweat! I even had a hard time sleeping the night after I read it.  


"Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again." 
  Luke 6:30


"...lend, hoping for nothing again..."
Luke 6:35


Dang it.  There it is again.   I'd like to think that I'm not a very selfish person.  I do like to give, I like to help, I like to love.   But, I guess I've realized that my best attempts at selflessness are pretty few and far between....  sporadic at best.     Give to every person that asks of me?   I wonder if I give 50% of the time I am asked.   And who exactly does Jesus mean when He says "every"?   It sounds like He's talking about everyone.   And if I do give... is it cheerful?    Do I give because I will feel better if I give?  What would it look like if I truly gave every time someone asked?  And not only that, but gave simply because they asked.  


And it doesn't stop there.  If someone takes or borrows something of mine... don't ask for it back?   I'm pretty sure I just did that like last week.  And I'm pretty sure that when I lend something to someone I hope to get it back probably about 100% of the time.  Sometimes I even tell them before I entrust them with my "sacred" thing.... "please bring this back".


One of my mentors, an incredible servant of Jesus in his 80's, told me a few years back that when someone asks to borrow something that I shouldn't lend what I don't plan on giving.  That always stuck with me, but more as like a good word of wisdom.  But not like a.... command.   I didn't realize that he was practically quoting Jesus.


I'm beginning to come to grips with the fact that there are too many things that I'm too possessive over.  Some things are actual physical things I have.  But there are others as well.... like my time.


It's funny how blind we can be to our own selfishness.