Loving is a contact sport

Loving was never meant to be easy or convenient

It feels like there are so many birthdays at this time of year. Who decided this? I’ve never really been big on birthdays if you’re my friend and you ask me when yours is, prepare to be disappointed. Since coming to university, I've realised people take birthdays so seriously and I love how they do it. These guys gather money from the person's closest friends and use it to get the person something they require, tending to a specific need.

Today’s post is about tangibly meeting the needs of people. Seeing what these guys do for their friends made me think, do we meet needs enough? Unfortunately, a lot of us have a ‘shallow’ desire to help. Our love isn’t robust enough to accommodate the weight of the intentionality necessary. Recently, it was someone’s birthday who had been planning to start a podcast and the group around him decided to chip in to gift him a podcast setup. Consider how often we aid the people around us; financially, with our skills, networks, or even time. 

No more ‘Shallow’ Love

Throughout scripture, we see that Christianity is a contact sport. It's all too easy to see theological truths as just theory, but biblical truth is one that changes how you live. The Book of James clears up what genuine faith looks like, one that bears fruits and is active. We see the image of sending a poor person off with nothing but a prayer when you tangibly have the means to support (James 2:16-17) described as ‘dead’ faith. Our lack of ability to support stems from our relationship with money and a heart condition, as where your treasure is is where your heart is (Mathew 6:21.) So if you genuinely love someone, if your heart is drawn to them, you would allocate resources to their needs. I often look to the book of The Acts of the Apostles and the early church, who as much as they were a physical church community who did stuff together, economically and financially they were also one. People sold their possessions and bought it together to be distributed in accordance with people's needs.  

Simply money managers

With deeper thought, one realises that it’s not our money, we’re simply God's money managers, custodians of his resources. Psalm 24:1 speaks to everything in the earth belonging to him, so if fellow CREATION are in need then why not provide that support? Seeing your money as in fact God’s money changes everything, allowing you to truly expel what you have been blessed with. I’m huge on financial wisdom and saving, but I can't help but think what good is it that money is just sitting there when there is genuine need around. There’s a call to an application of wisdom here, balancing supporting people and being prepared for emergency use. 

Support ‘dreams’, help the world

There's so much untapped potential in the world, perhaps needing your support (in whatever way) to get started. Help unlock potential. You can make a great contribution to the world, by aiding someone with the resources to thrive. Through the generosity of others, people have been able to change the world. As I mentioned in a previous post, if you truly want to make an impact it's bigger than you. Our greed and tightness with money could be gatekeeping the success of others.

Thought: When the topic of money comes up, I think of this analogy my mentor once told me of having your hand out. Although clenching your hand allows you to hold onto what you have more tightly, it reduces your capacity to receive. We want to have open palms, where we have a free-flowing relationship with money that allows you to give and receive bountifully. 

Love isn't convenient 

Tangibly meeting needs isn't convenient. Love is hard. Love is inconvenient. Love is sacrifice. For a lot of us, we’re not prepared to experience minor discomfort for the sake of loving people. We see a need but don’t meet it, despite having the means to. 

If we’re to be honest, we want to love from afar. 

It’s a lot easier that way, it keeps us comfortable. We've been blessed to be a blessing, given resources to be resourceful. Christ dying on the cross for us, due to an unfailing love, was far from convenient. It was the biggest sacrifice ever made, a father sending his only son to die for a people who may never love him. It was far from convenient. How much are we prepared to ‘lose’ for the people we claim to love so much? Doing this is active and dynamic, requiring sacrifice. 

Practical

In practice, what does this all look like? It looks like loving specifically. It looks like taking note of the needs around you. It looks like availing yourself, even when it's ‘inconvenient.’ If you really love the people around you, demonstrate it. Cease the unsubstantial words. A brother of mine mentioned how he never leaves home without cash, always prepared to give and be a blessing to someone. Go out into the world with the knowledge and preparation to meet needs. Again love is not convenient, would you get out of bed at an ‘unfavourable’ time to assist someone with a task? Are you one to temporarily pause your journey to go to a cashpoint to give? Something I’ve been doing recently to tailor my efforts is having a notes page for people, recording needs, or ways I can support them after conversations. You may find that delegating a certain account for giving will prompt you to donate further.

Generally, for people who claim to love people, we do a bad job of meeting needs. Let's be more conscious and intentional with our efforts, in an attempt to alleviate each other's burdens. Let’s not just that friend who's there when it's turn up time, but there to support and aid needs. 

Be blessed people,

NYA