Scripture: James 1:25
But those who look intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continue in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.
 
Thought for the Day: The founders of the early church—especially Jesus’ brother James, understood that giving, for no reason other than the desire to give to others, is the greatest possible blessing. Somewhat paradoxically, giving out of love with no expectation of return on investment, blesses both the recipient and the giver. We give to each other not because we expect something in return (or a reward from God), but simply because we are so filled with the Spirit and love of God that we overflow with the desire to do things to bring a little light to our dark world.
 
Religion in Jesus’ time was still transactional. When a sacrifice of grain or meat was made to the gods, good fortune was expected in return. Just as people traded goods and services with each other, they traded goods and services with the gods. This same sacrificial system, although more complex and less direct, existed in Judaism, and I would say continues to be the primary reason people are religious today. Whether a church is preaching eternal damnation or eternal blessings, the idea is that our actions affect our relationship with God. If we’re good, God gives us good things. If we’re bad, God punishes us.
 
Not only is this transactional model based on human actions, it also makes humans the most important part of this religious system, which we are not. God is the most important part of any religious cycle. We should come to religion and/or spirituality out of a strong desire to know God more deeply, whatever “God” means to us at any given moment. That desire to have real relationship with God transforms our lives and turns us all into service personnel, infused by God to serve humanity. Jesus clearly shows that the only sacrifice we offer God should be our own lives. The only thing we should expect in return is that our lives will be very, very different. If we turn our lives over to God, we will die to our old selves and be born into something new. This is the metaphor of the crucifixion in a nutshell. New life awaits us all, here and now, and God is already working on our transformation.
 
That transformation ends a cycle of bloodshed that has gone on since humans first walked the earth. Dying to the old world and being transformed by God into new beings helps bring about the ultimate blessing for all of us: a world without war, where we help each other through tough times, share our medicines to eradicate diseases, and work together to empower each other, rather than enslave each other. We can break out of the systems of commerce that pollute both our interactions with each other and with God, and finally become something greater than we’ve dared to dream possible: a blessing to the entire universe.
 
Prayer: Open my eyes to the cycle of blessings that is showered upon the world when I stop asking to receive, and instead open my heart to giving as faithfully as my master, Jesus Christ. Amen.