Day 33 - Using what’s been entrusted

Reading: Proverbs 11:24-28

One of my heroes is Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock band U2. He’s an amazing artist, and has amassed tremendous fame and fortune through his music. As the saying goes - power to him! Especially seeing as Bono is using his fame and fortune to advocate for the needs of the poor of the world. He refers to his celebrity status as a rock star as currency that he can use to mobilise world leaders and ordinary citizens everywhere to respond in far more meaningful and creative ways to the challenge of global poverty. How awesome is that?

Bono has recognised that with fame and fortune comes an undeniable moral responsibility to use these things for the benefit of others. He is doing just that in quite remarkable ways. And even though he is not overtly religious, there is clear evidence of a deep and authentic spirituality at work in his life. I like to think of Jesus as a huge Bono fan, not just of his music, but of his life.

Now it’s true that none of us have access to the same ‘celebrity currency’ as does Bono, but that’s quite incidental. The real question is whether we, like him, will use what we have and what’s been entrusted to us for the benefit of others, especially the poor?

If financial wealth has been entrusted to you, it brings with it a moral responsibility.

If superior education has been entrusted to you, it brings with it a moral responsibility.

If good business sense and an entrepreneurial spirit has been entrusted to you, it brings with it a moral responsibility.

If any gift, competency, or quality has been entrusted to you that enables you to make your life richer in any way, it brings with it a moral responsibility.

When such moral responsibility is acknowledged and acted upon, then suddenly the gifts that have been entrusted to us (yes, including our wealth) come alive within us in miraculous ways, and we discover a newfound joy and purpose and significance for our lives that wasn’t there before. That’s what Bono has discovered, and it’s exactly what his example calls us to emulate.

There’s a well-known sermon illustration that most preachers have used some time or another, myself included. Although you may have heard it many times before, it still provides a vivid and compelling image that can transform the way in which we see everything that we have received. It goes something like this:

In the middle of the land of Israel, the Jordan River flows from north to south. Along its course two bodies of water can be seen. In the north is the Sea of Galilee - teeming with fish and birds and economic activity. Further south is the Dead Sea - aptly named because its high salt content makes it impossible to support any life at all. The Dead Sea is a much larger body of water than the Sea of Galilee, but there’s no doubt as to which one is more vital.

The difference between these two bodies of water cannot be found in what flows into them, for they are both fed by the same water of the Jordan River. The difference lies in what flows out. The Sea of Galilee has a massive outlet in the form of the Jordan, as it continues its journey south. Whatever it receives, it gives. It’s part of a mighty flow and as such is vibrantly alive. The Dead Sea, by contrast, has no outflow whatsoever. Whatever it receives, it tries to retain. It might be big, but it’s dead.

Which, of course, is a parable for our lives. When we see our lives as part of the great flow of God’s grace through the world, bearing the responsibility to use whatever has been entrusted to us, not just for our own benefit but the benefit of others - then life indeed will be found in us, and joy and wonder too! But if not...the legacy of the Dead Sea will be the sad description of our lives, brimming with potential but ultimately inconsequential.

Questions for reflection:

1. What resources have been entrusted to you, and how are you using them for the benefit of others? What could you do with them, if you chose?
    
2. Who are the people who inspire you to live a more selfless, creative life? (Why don’t you contact them if you can and tell them, and thank them for their example?)

Prayer:

Lord, it says in Proverbs 11:25 that a generous person will prosper, and one who refreshes others will be refreshed. Help me to take this great truth to heart. Help me to see how my entire life can be more fully surrendered to you, so that all that I am and everything that I have might become part of your great river of life that is flowing throughout the world. Amen.