 |
Portrait
of Leo Tolstoy
|
For
who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you
did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as
though you did not? (1 Corinthians 4:7).
For
gifts from God see 1 Timothy 6:17; Matthew 6:25, 33; Leviticus 26:4;
Ephesians 2:8; James 4:6; Proverbs 2:6; James 1:5; Isaiah 42:5).
Where
do you find dishonest traders today? Does the punishment still fit
the crime? (Serendipity Bible 10th Anniversary Edition, page
1294).
If
we are honest, what can we possibly claim to have earned all by
ourselves? Start with the generous earth we were born upon and the mind we were born with – which we
had nothing to do with receiving. Next take all of the tools,
knowledge, and advantages that we have from living at this point in
history; we earned none of them, not even the revolutionary idea of
the wheel. We must never forget that as children we had little or
nothing to do with our sustenance – a sustenance that allowed us to
grow and develop into adulthood. And in so many ways even as adults
we are still dependent upon the generosity and produce of others for
our well-being. So we return again to the inescapable conclusion and
simple fact that if we do not acknowledge our inestimable debt to
others by our thoughts, words, and deeds; and instead selfishly claim
that all we have is of our own doing, and act like it – then we
are hopelessly inconsiderate and thoroughly dishonest traders who
deserve punishment instead of reward – far from being superior, we
are among the most deceitful and spurious of men.
Print Page
