Our next tale is about Jesus giving the famous Sermon on the Mount but at the end he turns to the West and says that this teaching was not for us, instead we will be the ones that people will turn their cheek to and who carry our packs and give us their cloak. He closes out the teaching by saying that these people will be his message to us and that if we heed it we will live, if not we will perish.
I will have to admit that these are the kind of stories that really haunt me sometimes. I live a comfortable life right now. I have a nice roof over my head, too many gadgets and things to occupy my time and thinking, too many books that I hope to one day read on my shelves and debt that I'm trying to pay off as a result of trying to capture aspects of the American Dream. But where I'm usually struck is that in my comfort I have continued the plight of some of the least of these in the world through the things I buy and the people that I support. I think one of the greatest tragedies in the world is how simply looking for a lower price we in turn perpetuate systems that do violence to others in the world. As a Christian I so want to rectify the situation but do not know where to begin. It seems that education is a good starting point but how about juggling wise choices with a fledgling bank account? No one ever said it was easy. God give us the ability to do without from time to time.
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