"It Was Never Between Them and You"

Reading: Deuteronomy 15:10--"Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to" (NIV).

We generally have a tendency to be concerned with what those around us think of us. We start hearing this as kids and it embeds itself in our minds and in our actions throughout our lives. We want to be accepted by others--it's human nature. All is fine with this, until it starts infringing upon our need to be, first and foremost, concerning ourselves with God's will.

Mother Teresa, one of the most loving and giving of God's servants in modern times, is quoted as saying the following:

“People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway. 

If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.

If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway. 

For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.” 

How exhausting it is to try and keep unreasonable and self-centered people happy? How many hours have each of us spent thus far in our lives trying to accomplish the impossible by making truly unhappy people happy? How about from now on that we do as Mother Teresa suggests and forgive them for being as they are rather than falling into the trap of becoming unreasonable and self-centered ourselves?

While living our lives simply and practicing active kindness, we occasionally find ourselves being accused of having ulterior motives. We are caught by surprise. Upon further examination, the accusation against us of practicing something less than pure kindness may have little to do with our gestures and much to do with the soul of the accuser. Our true test--are we being true in the eyes of God? If so, all is well.

We've all been cheated, one way or another, in our lives. Our feelings are greatly hurt when we know we've been honest; how could someone do this to us? And when a friend or relative is the one doing the cheating, the hurt is all the deeper. Our consolation? God knows. We don't need to point out all the errors. We can, however, pray for those who find honesty a difficult task.

When something really nice happens to us, we might find ourselves floating along in a mood where the sun seems to be shining just a bit brighter and the birds are singing just a bit more on key. We catch ourselves smiling--what a great feeling. And then, out of nowhere, comes a cutting remark or an arrow of ill-will shot in our direction. What happened? Why do people need to bring us down from our happiness? It could very well be jealousy--nothing more. It's a truly "human" nature. Don't let it spoil your moment...it's not between you and them anyway, remember?

I once had a professor that asked the class how important we thought we all were. We weren't sure how to answer. He further suggested that to see just how important we were we should take a bucket, fill it with water, dunk our hand in it, swirl around liberally, and then remove it to see how big of a hole we left. Yep...it's the same with the good gesture we perform for others. It can quickly be forgotten by the recipient. It's the chance we take in being benevolent. We should, however, look for every opportunity to help one another. I do believe it makes God smile.

We work and work, practice kindness, give our best...and people continually ask for more. It's okay--truly it is.

When we work as a hand of God, we will naturally give without ceasing, practice kindness on a daily basis, act honestly, and accept the fact that we will probably never meet the needs and wants of our fellow men and women. And, at the end of the day, it's all okay.

"For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.”