Book of Sandra

Chapter 5

I grew up cooking. It was my job to start dinner when I came home from school. My father, a southern man, had to have certain things every day we had a meat, vegetable and cornbread. Nothing was easy either. Meat was usually frozen in our huge mammoth freezer so I had to remember to take it out that morning or get it thawed and cooking ASAP. Vegetables were labor intensive because we rarely used frozen and never canned. I made pinto beans, or black eye peas, or my mother's favorite cabbage. When I was in my early teens my mother would come in and help making mash potatoes and sometimes the cornbread to pull the meal together. We'd sit around the kitchen table everyday and pass food around, until our schedules no longer made it possible.

We'd set the table and after we were all seated we'd say grace. Most of us just said "Jesus wept," and be ready to dig in. My mother & father's prayer was basically the same "thank you for the food I'm about to receive for the nourishment of our bodies for Christ sake Amen." At some point we all had the opportunity to adopt our own prayers, my mother told me to look in the bible and something would speak to me. I decided on "but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added onto you." I didn't know at that time how that scripture would follow me for life.

The Kingdom

Churches and their messages are so interesting to me these days. From the displays on license plates you would think that being blessed means you're prosperous. Material trappings or "these things" show that you are doing right by God. Implied in that message conversely is if you're struggling you'd better get right with God so you can have the good life too, as if the poor aren't blessed also. Bringing your treasure into the house of the Lord in the form of tithes and offerings are closely monitored by some churches to the point of requiring its members to submit paycheck stubs. You give at your place of worship in order to receive.

From my perspective the message they send is give to receive. So giving becomes an investment. My disagreement with this point is as it relates to intent behind giving. A Course in Miracles says that "the cost of giving is receiving," but receiving is not the goal. In the Old Testament or Jewish they left the chaff so anyone who needed it could take it. Chaff was corner & edge portion of their crops. That's giving.

So what does it mean to seek the Kingdom of God and his righteousness? It's more about how we treat our fellow man than what we do in our churches or synagogues. So what if you give $100 at church on Sunday but can't be bothered to give a single dollar to the homeless man. So what if you spend three hours at church on Sunday but not an hour on Saturday to work in a soup kitchen. We've gotten it so confused acting as if what we do in our churches absolves us from the work needed in our communities.

The real mission of Christianity is in how we treated one another. ACIM says that "many conspire with God that do not know God" Jesus said "that as you do onto the least of these you do also onto me." Our giving only at the church is selfish giving so that we receive, not so that others can receive as well. Others that don't look or act like you or who don't believe like you. Who is the Good Samaritan? The Kingdom is spread out all over the world.

My Point: Love

God is not an ATM machine that if you simply punch in the right prayers and give your 10% that you get back out what you desire, that's not how it works. Life happens without regard for what you do. God is no respecter of persons so you can do everything you think you were suppose to do and your body will still die and may suffer in the process. Ask Jesus, he died on the cross none of us get a free pass. So what really matters is that you make a difference; that you love. You are blessed to be a blessing to others. Are you your brother's keeper?