To Contribute

"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Paul (II Corinthians, 9:7)

When the affirmation given by Paul was divulged, informing that God loves a cheerful giver, many people solely remembered the material charity.

Praise, however, was not only circumscribed to generous hands that distribute small donations of goodness to the needy and to those in pain.

Naturally, all these demonstrations of love are recognized as divine, but we should note that the verb "to contribute," referred to in the current lesson, appears in all its grandeur.

Cooperation in righteousness is a palpitating matter everyday and everywhere. Any individual is capable of supplying it. It is not only the beggar who waits for it, but also, the cradle where all experience is renewed, the family in which we purify our virtuous accomplishments, our neighbor, our brother in humanity, and the workplace which signals our own individual achievements in our daily efforts.

At the moment of nocturnal rest, each heart can question itself regarding the quality of the collaboration in service, in the conversations, in the affectionate relationships and in this or that preoccupation of everyday life.

Let us be cautious of sadness and sterilizing shadows. Ill will, complaints, dissatisfaction, and frivolities, are not integrated in the kind of labor that the Father expects from our activities in the world. Let us mobilize our resources optimistically, not forgetting that the Father loves the child that contributes with happiness.

XAVIER, Francisco Cândido. Our Daily Bread. By the Spirit Emmanuel. Spititist Alliance for Books, 2003. Chapter 58.