Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Proverbs 3:27
“Remember to be gentle with yourself and others. We are all children of chance, and none can say why some fields will blossom and others lay brown beneath the August sun. Care for those around you. Look past your differences. Their dreams are no less than yours, their choices in life no more easily made. And give. Give in any way you can, of whatever you possess. To give is to love. To withhold is to wither. Care less for your harvest than how it is shared, and your life will have meaning and your heart will have peace.”
Kent Nerburn in Letters to My Son: A Father’s Wisdom on Manhood, Women, Life and Love (Novato: New World Library, 1999) 189.
Special thanks to my mother, Patsy Hoag, for sharing this quote with me. The timing is perfect as I have flown from Melbourne to Sydney to serve the board of Christian Super, an organization that helps 25,000+ members live life with financial health and understanding based on biblical principles. My prayer today and tomorrow is to serve them well with spiritual truths so they can add true richness to the lives of all those they serve.
I pray my wife and I and our children grasp this too. The best assurance that our children will live this out is to run this race ourselves. The image of running a race is in my mind as my hotel room overlooks a track at the Sydney Olympic Park (pictured above) where runners are training. Like watching athletes compete, the world is watch how we live. “Give in any way you can, of whatever you possess.” I pray this thinking transforms 25,000+ lives to impact the nation of Australia!