Have you ever had the opportunity to help someone? Perhaps someone needed help moving to a new home? Perhaps they were in a dire situation and were desperate for anything at all. It is amazing how blessed you feel while blessing others!
Storing Our Treasures in Heaven
Our Heavenly Father desires that we be of service to others. Human nature and today’s society dictate the exact opposite. Our natural man will hoard everything we own and keep it for ourselves. We look covetously at our neighbour’s new car, newer house, nicer clothes and want these things too. Possessions become idols. They become more important than helping people who simply have nothing.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matt 6:19-21
When we look at overflowing closets, drawers, basements, garages, all the stuff we are holding on to and for what? Could we pack it up and give it away not expecting anything in return? Will we even remember what it was or miss owning it? The clutter we give away with cheerful heart will make room for the spirit of generosity to permeate into our lives and in the lives of our families.
Goodfellows Drive
Another great example of selflessness is the Goodfellows organization. These volunteers man the streets collecting donations in the cold early winter mornings. What could be more important than providing the city’s disadvantaged citizens with good wholesome food?
Did you know that the Goodfellows have been selflessly helping people for over a century? The boxful of food and the turkey voucher provide needy families with a beautiful gift: Christmas dinner that can be shared with their family. This is something perhaps that we take for granted after opening this year’s newest iPad, smartphone and Xbox.
Did you know that 5,300 Christmas boxes were handed out by the Goodfellows last year? This year predictions are even higher as the need is greater. Those who are in need are sometimes invisible to us but it may be your neighbor, the lady you saw walking down the street without a coat, the homeless man shuffling to keep his circulation going in the freezing cold.
I ran across the Goodfellows code in the Goodfellows Special Edition, Forever Thankful newspaper:
It’s helping the chap who’s bearing a load,
It is bringing a smile to a youngster’s face,
Restoring his trust in the human race.
It’s sharing the warm of year-end joys,
With thousands of worthy girls and boys.
It’s helping the young and the old to know,
That someone cares when ill winds blow.
It’s smoothing the way when the road is roughly,
It’s lending a hand when the going is tough.
It’s understanding a neighbour’s plight,
It’s caring enough to do what is right.
It’s living against the ancient law.
When the Good Samaritan came and saw,
And did not pass on the other side,
But offered his hand, a friend to guide.
This is the Goodfellows Code, is writ:
The best of life and worth of it
Is not, how much can I get for me
But what have I done to be neighbourly?
Angus Munro, December 1959
Can you help with your talents and gifts that God gave you? Can you give what you have to help someone else? Your blessings will be many and your heart will be full!
QOTD: Do you know of someone who needed help and can you share how you helped them? How did that make you feel?