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Generosity has a lot to do
with trust. Have you ever had the experience of feeding a puppy? They
will attack whatever food you serve up and consume it all immediately.
Very rarely will something be left for later. There are some
disadvantages to being born in litters and having to fight six or seven
of your siblings just to eat. It is hard to forget that experience, even
when it seems like there is enough for everyone.
Most of us have never experienced serious deprivations such as hunger,
nakedness, or neglect. For the most, part we were raised by loving
parents willing to forego their needs in order to supply our needs and
even our wants. It wasn't always like that for our parents or perhaps
for their parents. They may have grown up during a dustbowl, depression,
or wartime. Some were orphans or children of divorce. Maybe they were
raised by single parents, concerned with earning a living and raising a
family at the same time.
Some people who grew up with great difficulty were determined that it
would not be that way for their children. Whatever it took, they wanted
their children to have what they missed in growing up. We admire their
sacrifices, but we might question the wisdom of their kindness.
Sometimes when things come easy they are not valued. Some people begin
to think that all the good things are coming to them. They might
believe that as it was, it shall always be.
What makes one person grow out of poverty into generosity and another
come out of plenty into avarice? Jesus repeatedly pointed out the
dangers of wealth and the blessedness of poverty. In today's gospel he
praises the wealth of a poor widow. One way for us to understand
how blessed are the poor in spirit, is to consider whether wealth
consists in possessing what we need, or in needing what we posses.
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