17 Aug, 2011

Snooze Button Love

 

 
Snooze App Lets Users Donate To Charity By Oversleeping
 

(From the Huffington Post)

 "Giving has become increasingly effortless with text-to-donate and other click-of-a-button tools, but a new app has made donating even simpler. So simple, that you can do it in your sleep.

The alarm clock iPhone app, Snooze, allows you to pledge 25 cents to a nonprofit in the LetGive network just by hitting the button that lets you clock in extra minutes of sleep.

...The foolproof app lets you rest easy while it keeps tabs on your snoozes. Twice a month, you just have to choose where to donate them."

 

Wow...does anyone else think this is as sad as I do? Have we become this lazy? 

It begs the question...

Is giving really giving if there is no thought or effort behind it? 

Is serving really loving others if your heart is disengaged? 

 

If you're like me, you grew up in church being told what it looks like be a Christian. We were told all of the things we were "supposed" to do if we wanted to be like Jesus.

So...we grew up believing that being a Christian looked a certain way. The emphasis was on what we do...not the heart or motivation behind it.

We end up feeding the homeless and sharing Jesus and raking the neighbor's leaves and reading our Bible and praying because we are "supposed" to. We end up doing it out of obligation. Not because we want to, but because we SHOULD.

Is this REALLY what Jesus is asking of us? Is this really what it means to follow Him and love others? 

Shouldn't caring for others be more than just hitting the snooze button so we can go back to sleep?

 

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NIV)

"The way we know we've been transferred from death to life is that we love our brothers and sisters...This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves...My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality." - 1 John 3:14-19 (MSG)

 

Well, God sure answered our questions pretty clearly.

What does it mean to truly love and serve others according to these verses??

 

"Good" cannot be done apart from love. Love requires sacrifice. 

It is more than talk. 

It is an overflow of the love we receive from Jesus.

I'm pretty glad Jesus didn't hit His snooze button when it came to us!

 

Why is it impossible to love others without being connected to Jesus? 

 

How often do you do "the right thing" because it's what you're "supposed" to do?

 

How could this lead to burn-out, frustration or bitterness?

 

Doing things because we feel obligated is a quick way to get us to the end of our rope. There is no life in it. (If you find yourself here, spend some time talking to Jesus about it.)

If following Jesus is a to-do list, we will want to quit.

On the other hand, longing to pass on the love we have been given multiplies life!

 

Examine your motives for loving others. 

Are you loving more like the guy with the Iphone strapped to his forehead?

Or are you loving more like 1 Corinthians 13 and 1 John 3?

How does this change the way you will love your friends this week?

 

Don't become a frustrated follower of Jesus feeling like you can never live up to the expectation.

Abide in Jesus. Let His love motivate you to serve and share with others. 

Dear friends, let's not just talk about love...let's practice it!

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