Selfless

On Sunday, we honored our mothers, those women who made so many sacrifices for us to succeed in life.  Most mothers have made huge selfless sacrifices which we rarely appreciated until we had our own children.  Then, all of a sudden, we see how much our Moms really loved us.  We see the extent to which they were willing to put their own desires and dreams on hold to prepare us for life.  We see the incredible amount of time they invested in our lives and how much time they spent just being a servant.  Motherhood is a risk because no one can predict how a child will turn out and grow up.  All the parenting books in the world still can't overcome the child who is bent towards rebellion and destruction.  Those children may never ever understand this selfless sacrifice of their mothers.

This type of sacrifice took me back to numerous discussions my own mother and I have had about the state of our world and our country.  She grew up during World War II, which saw a generation make huge sacrifices for the benefit of the greater good.  Food, gas, clothing tires and most goods could only be bought with coupon books.  Children learned to collect tin foil and to appreciate even the most basic of foods, like meat, sugar, etc.  One piece of bubble gum was a treasure to savor.  The men of that generation sacrificed their lives at places like Omaha Beach, Bataan, Iwo Jima, Anzio, St Vith, Bastogne, Okinawa and places too numerous and now too obscure to name.  The entire country pulled together for the common good.  There may never have been a time when the entire country made such selfless sacrifices. 

I have grown up in a generation where sacrifice has become unknown and rarely practiced.  The generations who have followed have grown up with immediate satisfaction as the norm, where $120 athletic shoes and the latest gaming system has become a necessity, not a luxury.   This is best reflected in the public sector where we see politics destroying the very fabric of this country.  Not to go all political, but I remember in 1981 when the national debt hit over $1 trillion and there was such a public outcry against this.  I remember reading articles about how long it would take to pay this debt off and how much the interest on this debt would amount to if not paid off quickly.  Now, our last two presidents both received "stimulus" money in excess of $800 billion (Not far from a trillion).  The past three years have seen our debt grow by over $6 trillion and will double by the end of Obama's four year term.  This is not to cast dispersions on Obama, but just a reminder of the state of our nation.  Our elected official simply try a short term fix because they know that real solutions would call for a united sacrifice.  The citizens of America are not willing to make those sacrifices, so any politician speaking the truth about it would never be elected.  That person would have to address "entitlement" programs, which make up over 56% of our national budget.  If defense spending is added, that figure rises to over 75% of our budget going to programs which give aid to specific populations in our county.  We can look at Greece and Spain to see a preview of this resulting effects of cutting entitlement programs.  Eventually, our country will simply run out of money to pay for all of these entitlement programs because we are not willing to make selfless sacrifices for the great good.  The TEA party will never be successful because of this fact.  Those who want to save the environment will never be successful because of this fact.  Americans are no longer unwilling to sacrifice for the greater good, they  are now unable to even conceive of this type of sacrifice.  The future doesn't look bright for our country unless there is a crisis which can help us set aside personal desires and commit to the greater good.

Please bear with me because I am not just going on a political rant.(Politics simply reflect the heart of our country)  There is method to my madness.  Church, as we look around, we seen selfishness and self-centeredness on so many levels in our society.  The one place we should see selfless sacrifice is in the church.  It should not surprise us to see those without Christ being so bombastic during this election cycle or angry and bitter about not getting their fair share or their way.  However, the church should be the one place where we still understand and practice sacrifice.  I'm not talking about sacrificing God's standards for some mushy, touchy,  feely love which eliminates accountability and righteous living.  Ephesians 4:2 puts it this way, "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in agape."  We sacrifice our own personal need to be right and in control so that the love of Christ can impact the lives of others.  We don't look down on those who may not be where we are at spiritually and we don't become critical of leaders.  We follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.  We realize that seeking to bring people into the Kingdom of Heaven as fully-devoted followers of Christ is the most important priority of our lives.  So the church will do crazy things like:  Give 1/10 of their income to the Lord's work, spend hours preparing a Sunday School lesson, prepare a meal for someone who is hurting/lost a loved one, tell someone the plan of salvation even though that person will mock us, give aid to someone in need without expecting anything in return, listen to the pain of a fellow pilgrim, clean the church building and a multitude of other selfless sacrifices which others will never know took place.  The Church is the hope for the future.  Hillcrest family, let's continue to honor the example of our mothers and be servants who selflessly sacrifice for the good of God's Kingdom.