Thought of the Day 06.25.09

A friend of mine recently moved away and gave me all the food in his kitchen, since he couldn’t keep it, including a case of bottled water. I’ve had a strange relationship with these bottles. Obviously, I’ve been drinking them, but I’ve also had the opportunity to give them away.

Although I would never withhold something as trivial as a bottle of water, I still have to admit that part of me hesitates momentarily before remembering that I didn’t pay for them. The fact that they were given to me has made it easier to give them away to others. Now I know that it’s ridiculous of me to have such a stingy impulse, and I know that bottled water is a truly trivial example. But that’s sort of the point.

I can’t help but hope that a time is coming in my life when I will finally and fully realize that everything I have, from my measly bottled waters to my savings account and my cars and my house, was all given to me just as freely by an extremely generous God. And until I’m willing to give it all away as easily as a bottle of water, that day hasn’t arrived yet.