I Wonder

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?
And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin,
yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you-- you of little faith?
Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?'
For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today. Matthew 6: 25-34

I have always read these words from a position of abundance. I wonder what they mean to someone who has nothing, who lives on the streets and who does not know where the next meal will come from. At the hospital, the chaplains often get requests for monetary assistance. The pastoral care office does not have these kinds of resources. As individuals we are allowed to give to those we choose. The need is so great. It seems never ending. I have given Tuna kits to a couple of people, but no monetary assistance as yet. I often feel like the person described in James 2:15-16 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that?

So I ask myself, why don't I give financially? True the foundation of our home needs expensive repair, true my student loans will be coming due soon, but also true is the fact that the abundance I have far exceeds that of those who ask. I've thought of asking my Sunday School class for McDonald's gift cards (there is a McD's in the hospital), but the question is what am I willing to share of what I have? As usual this blog serves more as a forum for my own personal debate than for finding or giving answers.