Can we share blessings, burdens in correct proportion?
Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 1:3-7. Text of meditation: “Law came in, to increase the trespass; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,” Romans 5:20. May this verse from the Bible help us to participate in the celebration of the World Communion Sunday spiritually, intellectually and actively. We should be concerned about global issues that touch millions of lives.
LET THIS ONE WORD: PROPORTION SERVE AS AN EYE-OPENER.
Although most of us do not realize the importance of PROPORTION in our daily lives, it plays a vital role. Please think of these cases:
1. THE CORRECT PROPORTION. A meal is delicious if spices are added to the food in the correct proportion. Just the right amount of salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar. . . will make a dish delectable. Similarly, your car engine will run smoothly if the engine has the correct proportion of gasoline and air.
2. OUT OF PROPORTION. Whenever a house is built, one of the rooms should not be either much smaller or bigger than the rest. Whatever is designed, it is best done in such a way that the parts will fit harmoniously into the whole.
3. DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL. When more people work, more will be done. Purchasing more merchandise will cost you more, and if you study more you will know more.
4. INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL. The more people who labor at the job, the less time is needed to finish the job. The more furniture that is put into a room, the less space will remain unoccupied and available.
PROPORTION IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE.
Following are three examples of when it is not easy to have the correct proportion:
n Balancing your faith and action. How much time shall one spend praying and how many hours should he/she sacrifice serving and doing charity work?
n Practicing courage and humbleness. If you are timid and shy, you will be abused, but, if you are arrogant and forceful, you cannot remain loving and compassionate.
n Helping at home or supporting the mission. Those few dollars we can afford for charity, shall they be used here or sent overseas to alleviate poverty?
THE SECRET OF PROPORTION.
As things grow, it is insufficient that the parts grow proportionately. Please observe a newborn baby; his head is big in comparison to his body, and as he grows his body will grow faster than his head. This is one of Mother Nature’s secret (and a problem for evolution). During growth STRUCTURAL CHANGE is needed. If a housefly would be 100 times bigger in correct proportion, its legs would not support its body. A flea can jump as high as 50 times its height; can even the strongest man come close to this feat?
This observation of proportion is valid in our relationships also. When parents have only one child, they can shower all their love, time, energy and finances on him. However, should these parents be in charge of the welfare of hundreds of people, they will be forced to become more logical, practical and have less time to be affectionate.
As we celebrate World Communion Sunday let us learn to think “BIG”!
n Worldwide problems cannot be approached and solved on personal basis.
n How can God be on both sides in a war? How can two Christian nations wage war against each other?
n The bigger the group is the more patience, tolerance and understanding are needed on the part of the individuals.
n God not only sees but also wishes to bless every person as well as the whole of mankind. Due to our nature, to bless a group of 100 people requires much more than to bless 100 individuals separately and irrespective of the others. This also means that the dividing lines between right and wrong are not absolutely determined forever.
Knowing a little about PROPORTION may we ask our heavenly Father: Let Thy will be known to us as mankind, nations, communities, families and individuals.
When we see the harmony among God’s will for each of these groups and respond to it positively as individuals and corporate bodies, we have made a great step toward bringing his kingdom closer to earth and celebrating the World Communion Sunday befittingly.
The Rev. Alexander Jalso is a retired United Presbyterian minister living in Brownsville.