When is enough...enough?


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November 5th saw a small group of 21 youth and adults from Llanelli South Wales complete the installation of the new ceiling and electrical system for the Khyae centre in Lehae.  In addition to this main project, the group doubled the bakery capacity by adding a second container, laid out 200m2 of turf for the kids to play on... AND took time out to return to The Ebenezer Care Centre to render the 2nd  of the April 2013 project buildings that still needed to be done.
As we waved good bye to this energetic group, Humphrey Birkenstock and I departed for the Khayelitsha township in Capetown to look at a potential 2014 service project site.  Nothing can prepare you for a township of 1.4 million plus people living on a floodplain amongst great wealth and vineyards.  Nothing can rob your emotions like giving flat out for 20 days to fill one humanitarian need, only to have to create another solution 24hrs later for another group of those in need....
 
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So I found myself asking the Lord, “ How much is enough?”

So here are some thoughts..... 
·         The scripture is clear that we will always have the poor amongst us.

·         The scripture is clear that we are not to grow tired of doing good..  

·         The scripture is clear that we are to be cheerful givers...  

 So why do we get to a point of feeling we cannot or will not do any more?   I think it is because we sell our selves short by returning to a focus on self.  We start to compare ourselves with others... coveting the things that we gave up in order to reach beyond ourselves to help others.  Once the measuring stick turns towards self, we begin to covet and inside we scream enough.  Once the goal is no longer God, we tire of doing good. 
 
This is not just for us missionary types working on big projects.  It is true in families when we compare who gets the biggest piece of pie.  It is true amongst siblings who worry about their experiences being equal to or better than others while growing up.  It is also done in our churches as we migrate to better care, better programs and more opportunities for us, as we church shop without plugging in.
My concern is that the problem is not entirely generated by those doing ‘good’ but by those who watch but do not engage.  Those working flat out to help the poor, or serve locally grow tired of watching those who don’t engage or do not sacrifice time or resources beyond the boundaries of their family.  Non verbally it flies in the face of what we say we believe and grinds those trying to do good to become part of the status quo.  But we were called to be different....
So what is the answer? If people do give begrudgingly, then the value of the exercise before God is no different than a forced standing ovation.  You rise with the crowd, but you do not understand what for.   Both you and the performers know your actions are not real, not of the heart, and there is no value. And those around you... sense that you are not really in this anyway so why did you try.
Therefore I believe that the answer is to encourage everyone to return to their first love, Jesus Christ.  To wake up in the morning knowing that we are not to focus on ourselves, but on the kingdom of God... ‘Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven’.  What if we all with conviction lived as we who are, ‘bond servants of God’.  How would it change our service in the community, our support of foreign aid and missions, and even our attitude at the Church door on a Sunday morning.
My prayer today is that we all return to ‘give us this day our daily bread’... and that we value each day in the season of life we find in, not focused on self, but on those around us.
As we are now heading toward the frantic event known as Christmas, can we all ask ourselves, when is enough, enough for ourselves and when is enough, enough for others.  Let’s try to get the focus right again.  So that when we are seen by the God of the universe in Worship, it is not forced, but real from the soul of thankfulness...
Something to think about...
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