A Living Sacrifice

A while back I read the old story of the cow and the pig, where the pig complains to the cow about how unpopular he is: "Sure, you give milk and cream, but I give even more, I give bacon and ham and bristles; people even pickle my feet! But they're always talking about your gentleness and kind eyes. Why is this?"

The cow thought for a minute and said, "Maybe it's because I GIVE WHILE I'M STILL LIVING."

Those words gave me pause, I'd just written my will and done an inventory of all my assets, deciding where everything should go. But then I started to look around. Our church needed a new organ and a new parking lot. I knew some children in the neighborhood who had birthdays coming up. The newspaper alerted me to the needs of an animal shelter and a local scholarship fund. 'Be like a cow,' I thought.

That was 10 years ago. Yes, of course, I have a will and there are still a few assets to distribute. But in the meantime I'm enjoying being a cow -- not a pig.

Epilog:
The above article caused me to stop and think -- am I a cow or a pig? What and to whom am I giving? Often our time and energies are given to worldly and material things. We mean to spend time with our kids, we mean to call our mothers, and we mean to read the Word and pray. Before we know it our day is spent and we're just too tired; we'll do it tomorrow.

Mother Teresa said, "There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread. " In our fast-paced, materialistic world, hearts are crying out to be loved. Love isn't necessarily measured by the 'things' we can give -- love is measured by the time and attention we invest in one another.

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...Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
Luke 10:27

[ Olga Stojicevie -- from Tidings@GAgirl.com ]