We all started poor

Imagine if you knew someone who had very few possessions, (practically nothing). Suppose you felt compassion for them and you took this person to the spa and got them a bubble bath, a massage, a haircut and then took them to the best clothing store and outfitted them with a fine wardrobe of elegant clothes. Next you went to the automobile dealership and bought them a shiny new luxury car. Finally you gave them a bank account filled with money and sent them on their way.

Suppose a few days later you observed this same person taunting, sneering, and making fun of some folks who had nothing and were very poor and lacking all of the fine things that you had given this same individual. In effect they were using everything you had given them for the purpose of making fun of others who were less fortunate. Would it make you mad enough to want to take away what you had given them?

I have no doubt that this is how God feels when we misuse the gifts that He has so graciously provided to us. God has given us all gifts. Some of us have warp speed thinking and brilliant intellect; some are drop dead gorgeous, financially blessed, athletically gifted, tall, dark, and handsome, at the top of our profession, fluent in many languages, educated at the finest schools, make friends easily and are popular, etc. Imagine how this makes God feel when those blessings and gifts He has given us are used in such a manner as to make others feel bad because they do not have all, or even some of those blessings.

Too often we do not recognize our blessings as just that, blessings from on High. Instead we attribute our God-given abilities, talent, looks, intellect, et al, to ourselves. Not only do we fail to thank God for them, we misuse them.

I was fishing with some fellows one fine Saturday. I have a unique gift for being able to easily catch fish while deep dropping. Deep dropping consists of fishing in 600-800 feet of water on the very bottom. It takes a long time for the sinker to hit bottom in this deep water and it takes a long time to reel it to the surface,(even though electric reels are utilized). It can be boring if you are not on the reel; therefore we switch off fisherman with each drop. More often than not, as soon as the sinker hits the bottom, within seconds I am reeling up a nice fish and often two at a time. Sure enough I caught several fish right off the bat and neither one of the guys with me had caught their first fish. I could see their frustration as I caught fish after fish with ease and they struggled with miss after miss and reeling up 600 feet of empty line.

Honestly I don’t know how I do it. I just feel the fish bite and react and hook them. With each fish I tried my utmost to show them how I react when I feel a bite, but in spite of my best efforts they could not seem to get the hang of it. I saw them becoming more and more frustrated and agitated with every fish I hauled in and I thought that this is not what fishing with some buddies is supposed to be like.

Finally I decided to just quit fishing entirely and went up in the tower where I could observe them and leave them to themselves. They were about equal in their efforts and although it was a struggle and they continued missing fish, eventually they did indeed catch several fish and had a great time doing it. When I was efficiently catching fish after fish, they were miserable because I was showing them up; after I stopped fishing and outdoing them and they were on equal footing with each other, they were just fine.

I have to be honest, in the past I might have just poured it on and started bragging, taunting them, and making fun of them, but I had been thinking along these lines of recognizing that whatever talent and natural abilities that I have are not of me but come from above and are a blessing from God and God’s blessings should definitely not be used to make others feel bad.

I missed my turn catching a few fish, but I very much enjoyed watching them have fun and I enjoyed the day from my perch high above the boat where I could gaze out at the beautiful blue ocean and blue sky. While up there as I often do, I thanked God more than once for everything He has given me. Instead of spending a miserable day showing off, I had a really good time watching others have some great fun and my friends all had huge smiles on their faces instead of the frustrated scowls they had exhibited prior to my stopping fishing.

I think God likes for us to assume this line of thinking. If you are tall be considerate to the short person. If you are strong, lend a helping hand to the weak one. If you are good looking, know that it is a blessing and use it appropriately. If you are rich spread it around some. Whatever you do, please do not use your gifts to make others feel bad

Matt. 5:7
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall see God.