Breaking Free

I think we all would agree that sometimes we just need to have perspective on how blessed we have been with the gifts God has given to us. Because far too often we fail to see how lucky we are until we no longer have what we once did. Certainly, this was the case for the younger son in Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son. He went looking for greener pastures and quickly discovered that the greenest ones were the ones he left behind. He had fallen into a “black hole” – a pit of materialism and wealth in the kingdom of self which was nearly impossible to get out of. We many times can fall into the same traps, and what this does is inhibit our ability to discover the virtue of generosity.

Generosity can be defined as giving good things to others freely and abundantly. Or, as Paul defines it: humility, in that we regard others as better than ourselves. Yes, we are to follow the model of Christ who exhibited the ultimate humility in giving his life for our sakes. And in so doing, we can affect others. Think about how the younger son in Jesus’ parable must have been changed because of the act of generosity from his father. We are called to do the same – to break free from the “black hole” of materialism and instead give into generosity. This will help us navigate away from the kingdom of self and back into God’s kingdom where we are charged to be good stewards of the time, talents, energy, and resources which we have been give. Let us all break free and experience God’s amazing grace!