Me and My Stuff

My aunt occasionally sells her possessions so she can give more to one of her favorite charities. I admire her, but I haven't emulated her. Of course, very few of my possessions are worth anything by the time I get done with them. However, in my Lenten fast from sweets in my house, I haven't given away the money I saved. We tithe to God's work, and sometimes give beyond that if a need comes to our attention, but we haven't developed the mindset of giving up things to give more to others. If I want something, I generally buy it; if we have extra money, we generally save it. I can't think of a time when I wanted something, but didn't buy it and gave the money away instead.

I have decided to quit looking at the catalogs that come in the mail, whether for clothing, books or fun little gadgets. If I need something, perhaps I'll use the catalog as a possible source, but otherwise, the temptation to buy something just because it's fun or cute needs to be eliminated.

Question: If the Body of Christ followed John Wesley's advice - "Earn all you can, save all you can, give all you can" - would the problems of poverty in the world be solved?

Some politicians and governmental officials desire to tax the rich more so the poor can have more. The appeal of this approach for Christian voters and politicians lies in God's grace, and His concern for the poor. We feel the government - of the people, for the people and by the people - should follow these Christian principles. The problem, though, is that God gives his grace voluntarily, and He gives only what is His to give - whether through His Body or any other way. The government, however, can only have something to give to one person if it takes it from another - by force. That creates resentment, feelings of superiority and inferiority, and ingratitude.

I'm selling a bunch of books, primarily to remove them from the shelves and the house. I was planning to use the money to pay for the Kindle I bought, but now I think I'll give the money away. May Your Body, O Christ, do Your will and serve others.