Give Back Everything Extra

I was thinking a little bit about how most humans are born with two kidneys but can afford to donate one without almost any long-term negative effects. Nearly all of us have this extra organ that we can use to save someone else’s life. You can kind of think of it as being like God gave us extras so we can share if we need to. I’m not advocating that everyone rush to the nearest hospital and start donating organs willy nilly, but I was thinking about how most of us have some talents or resources in excess of what we need. I might need one bucket of talent to satisfy my own cravings and ambitions but God blessed me with two or five or twenty buckets of talent, not because more is better, but because I can use the extra that I have to make other people’s lives better. That’s why it’s such a terrible tragedy when we aren’t living up to our full potential. Living up to our full potential not only makes our own lives better, but it makes the lives of everyone else around us better as well. Suffocating our light under a bushel of doubt and fear and insecurities makes everyone a little blinder, not just ourselves. Whether we are cowards or egoists or psychopaths, homeless or rich, smart or stupid, good or evil, each and every one of us with functioning kidneys has the capacity to literally save someone’s life. Each of us with the ability to sing songs, or throw parties or organize pantries can use those gifts we’ve been given to make someone else’s day a little brighter and their struggle a little easier and the road ahead filled with a little more meaning. If we all work together in harmony we can make miracles happen precisely because all of God’s gifts distributed amongst us can combine to form God’s power and His will. The law of consecration means, roughly, giving back to the Lord everything but what you need, so by sharing our excess time, talents and resources with our brothers and sisters, we are giving everything extra back to the Lord, for if we have done it unto them, then we have done it unto Him.