by Peter Warski
Earlier this year, I was riding home with a friend. We were returning from dinner at Zeek’s Pizza, which had provided me with some leftovers I was planning to enjoy for lunch the next day.
Sometimes, God speaks softly, and at other times, He punches you in the gut. On this particular evening, He chose the latter form of communication.
We pulled up to a red light. As I thought about how tasty the pizza had been, a man came alongside our car, holding a sign: “Hungry. In need of food. God bless.”
At the bottom of the sign was a drawing of a pizza.
The box of Zeek’s in my hands suddenly felt heavy. It became instantly clear what I should have done. The man wasn’t asking for anything questionable. He was asking for something to eat.
As my friend rummaged for her purse, my mind raced. I should give out of my abundance — but then what will I eat for lunch? Before I could complete my thoughts, the light turned green, we were off, and I hadn’t moved an inch.
When I got home — pizza box still in hand — the pangs of guilt swept over me. Was I really that greedy? So greedy that I wouldn’t give up cold pizza slices just because I’d have to find a different lunch? Guilt soon led to self-condemnation. Self-condemnation convinced me that I simply needed to pray.
As I did, I was reminded of a few points. First, when it’s clear that God is calling us to do something — whether it be as mundane as giving away your leftovers, or as monumental as moving to the other side of the world — we should be obedient. We should not rely on our own reasoning. Doing so inevitably leads to us putting our own interests and desires ahead of our biblical mandate to love and serve others. I’ve learned that the hard way.
Secondly, we need to remember that God’s grace is always sufficient: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:17). The guilt and self-condemnation I experienced was not from God — but the scenario that led to it was. He wants us to be reminded of the responsibility we have as His followers. But He wants us to carry out that responsibility with joy and humility, not guilt or reluctant obligation. That’s why He gave us the greatest gift of all — one that eternally frees us from those latter negative emotions so that we can be a light in a dark world.
This is what the Spilling Hope campaign is all about. As we come upon Celebration Sunday, I encourage everyone to keep this message in mind — and accordingly, to give with humility, joy, generosity, and obedience to God. By remembering Christ’s sacrifice, and by following His example, we truly begin to reflect His nature in the midst of a broken world.
