Tag Archives: socially

To Borrow or Buy?

Before the days of importing goods, products made in America were built to last.  Although the price may have discouraged many from purchasing home improvement items, the investment was often worth it.  Subsequently, the middle class had to decide, should I ask a neighbor to borrow their tool or buy my own?

Unfortunately, consumerism has inspired an era of disposable objects of every shape, size and color.  Low prices have made almost anything you need affordable.  In the meantime, relationships between neighbors have drifted apart, able to buy what they need instead of relying others nearby.  Whether you choose to borrow or buy, each decision will affect you financially or socially.

When Jesus was crucified, he was buried in a borrowed tomb, John 19:38-42.  Surely, Jesus knew he would be only staying a couple days, busting out to attend a resurrection party, John 21:10-14.  As Rush Limbaugh often states, the apostle Paul clearly confirms, “our talents are on loan from God,” borrowed until the day Jesus calls us home.  Until this day arrives, your temple, earthly body, has been bought with a price, 1 Corinthians 6:12-20; therefore honor God with the talents you have received, 1 Corinthians 12:6-11.

by Jay Mankus

 

Broken Pottery

With the recent success of modern art, beauty is often in the eye of the beholder.  This same logic can be applied to self-esteem.  If an individual attains success in academics, athletics or socially, this person may feel like a bouquet of roses.  On the other hand, if one experiences a regular dose of defeat, failure and setbacks, they might feel like shattered glass, trying to pick up the pieces of their life one day at a time.

While most people think of David as the second king of Israel, he spent several years in isolation, warned by his best friend Jonathon to flee from his jealous father, King Saul.  In the psalms, David  pours out his heart to God, trying to make sense of the pain he was enduring.  This is where we feel David’s  raw emotion, “I am forgotten by them as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery,” Psalm 31:12.

Depression is an unfortunate circumstance of life.  God allows people to experience trials in life so that they may become mature and complete, James 1:2-4.  However, this process includes mess ups, mistakes and unfulfilled expectations.  Though you may currently feel like a piece of broken pottery, the Great Potter, Abba Father, has eternal plans to hold you together, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.  May the power of Holy Spirit be the spiritual glue to fix our bodies comprised of broken pottery.

by. Jay Mankus