Both weeks, I woke up at quarter to 11 and did not have enough time to make the near half-hour drive to I Am's Temple. I love going to service on Sundays and I look forward to it but for some reason I have a difficult time waking up (like most Americans).
I left my house at 10:50 and noticed I didn't have a sufficient amount of gas in my tank to make it to Plainfield. So, by the time I finished getting gas, it was 11 and since service usually ends around noon, I decided to stay home.
I felt terrible though. I never miss church unless I'm visiting my girlfriend in Pennsylvania or plan a once-in-a-year trip somewhere. Unfortunately, I Am's Temple is a small church and doesn't do multiple services, otherwise I would attend a later one. Anyway, before returning home I went to grab a coffee while I was out.
Arriving at the same Dunkin Donuts I've been going to for four years, I swung around the drive-thru and saw a young boy canning for his baseball team. I thought to myself, "Okay, I'll give him a couple bucks." So, I got my coffee, pulled up to him and said, "What's this for?"
He answered me, "Stampede baseball team." I already knew what it was for, I just wanted to make the kid feel like he did something to persuade me to donate. I don't know why I do that. I feel bad he was out there in the freezing cold holding an old tin coffee can looking for change, not even dollars, change.
I took two dollars and said, "I got you buddy." His response was, "Thank you, sir."
As I drove away, reflecting on what I had done, it soon dawned on me: I could have and should have done more for him. What do you think? I was headed to church that morning where I was going to throw a $20 bill in an envelope as my offering. I definitely could have substituted a church envelope for that boy's can. Instead of feeling satisfied with what I had done, I felt regret and sadness. Nearly choking up for the rest of the ride, I understood that though the young boy was only expecting change or single dollars, it wouldn't have mattered to me much if I had spent that $20 on his cause that morning. After all, charity is something that the Bible tells us we should have.
"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
-Corinthians 13:13
If I ever happen to miss a service again and I'm able and willing to donate a $20 bill...you can bet that if I see a good cause, that's where my money will go. And it's not because I feel bad for missing a service or just because I'm looking for glory out of it. My anonymous donation is what Jesus tell us to do. Even then, I would not be as charitable as The Lord. But I shall not stop seeking to love like Jesus did and still does.
Praise the Lord!
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