Is that what you think? That you’ve gotten little in return for your investment (energy, time, resources, support, etc.)? Have you ever turned that coin over and looked at what others have received from their investment in you?!!! Consider what others have done, and do, for you – have you ‘repaid them’? In like, kind? More than just the investment? Less? They didn’t ask for a return? … you meant to??? I think that we very infrequently look at ‘ the other side’, the opposite position. And we especially don’t consider the ‘why’, the belief and actions that indicate the opposite view. We do look at what we didn’t receive.
This thought assailed me one morning. I was thinking about all (that I was aware of or remembered) that the Lord has done and continues to do and give to/for me. Goodness! Talk about little return on His investment! This thought then led me to how we relate and interact with one another. Many times it is our unspoken expectations and or assumptions that eventually lead us to our feelings of ‘little return’.
This then led to our ‘how’ we give our investment. Is it open handed – no thought or expectation of the return? Not a quid pro quo or in like manner? Or is it an expectation – known by both parties – of the what, when, how the investment will be repaid. Have you ever looked at the expectations by others to their investment in you? Did you fulfill the expectation? Were you unaware that there was an expectation? Now, take that a step further and look at what your return to the Lord is for His investment in you.
If this doesn’t make you blush then you are indeed rare… or deliberately unaware. Harsh? Sometime we need to wake up to how we treat others and look at how this relates to what the Lord does toward us. No, I’m not suggesting you be a doormat for the world. But you might consider granting a bit more grace and mercy toward others. And that includes yourself. We need to move away from unspoken expectations of others… of ourselves to a reality of what can be expected. Primarily, I believe that we need to make certain that everyone is aware rather than operate on assumptions.
‘Little return’ may be all that we (or the other person) can do. Where should we focus… on the ‘little’, or on ‘return’? And before you answer that, remember all that the Lord does for you and how you repay Him,
