Father's Reflection 9.24.23

“Are you envious because I am generous?”

 

One of the temptations of the spiritual life is to believe that there are only so many blessings to go around. If I’m blessed, I might be taking away from someone else’s blessings, or if someone else is blessed, I’m afraid there might not be enough for me.

 

This is called “scarcity mentality.” In this Sunday’s parable about the generous landowner, Jesus is inviting us to take on an “abundance mentality” instead. When we are dealing with the things of the world and other people, we are very calculating and transactional; when we are in relationship with our heavenly Father, He doesn’t calculate and demand something from us before He gives superabundantly. 

 

Rightly we can say with the disgruntled laborers who worked all day or with those that only worked the last part of the day, “That’s not fair!” It’s true, it’s not fair, but God doesn’t work and think the way we do. He says “So high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your ways”!

 

God is a good Father and He wants to give us more than we deserve and even more than we can imagine. He only waits for us to ask and surrender control of situations to Him that we think we have to fix or earn a solution for.

 

Whatever area we need help in this week, let’s start by asking Him to take care of it because He died to give us the greatest gifts of His mercy that we can never work enough to deserve!

 

Jesus, I surrender (fill in your need here: my family, finances, health, work, etc) to You. You take care of it! Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Say this prayer every day, and get ready for an unexpectedly blessed week!

 

Fr. Joel