Do You Believe God Uses Each Of Us to Help Others?
Morning Pages Week twelve
This completes my 12 weeks in “The Artist's Way” workbook. It has been a great journey for me - thank you for coming along!
The online dictionary defines ethics as “moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting of an activity.” I was listening to a podcast recently about the ethics of experiments that exposed people to Covid early in the Pandemic in order to test the experimental new vaccines. They had to know if the vaccines would work or not. They needed to know if there were side effects. They needed answers and they needed them ASAP.
It seems the only way to get the answers was to use volunteers who were willing to risk both taking the vaccine and being exposed to the virus in hopes of helping and/or saving others. As I listened, I wondered, was this really the only way? There seemed to be so many unknowns. If the first people who took the vaccine knew all the risks involved and volunteered, was that okay? Is it okay to possibly sacrifice one (or more) in the hopes of saving many?
I believe that there are some people who saw this as a way to serve and help others. They were able to step away from themselves and focus on the greater good. They were willing to serve or sacrifice for others. The more I thought about it, I realized that things like that happen all around us every day. The men and women in the armed forces are a great example. So are our policemen, firemen and other emergency workers. The greatest example of sacrifice for others is Jesus, who gave His life so we could be saved.
So, all of that brings us back to ethics. If the moral principles that govern our behavior are consistent with God’s plan for our lives, how does that affect the choices we make? What would you do? If you had the opportunity to do something that would help someone else or many “someones” would you take it? What would God want you to do?
I see opportunities to be unselfish and help someone else almost every day. Are they big things like exposing myself to Covid? No, but they are things that can make a difference at some level in another’s life. If I really believe that God uses each of us to help others, why would I not consider those opportunities as they come along?
What do you think? How far do we take this role of sacrificing self for the good of others? What opportunities are there for us today?
Questions For You To Think About:
Are the ethics that you live by consistent with the teachings of Jesus?
What opportunities do you have to sacrifice for others today?
What motivates you to serve in this way?
2 Minute Drill
What’s the difference between getting bitter or getting better?
Quick Hits:
This Week’s Quote: Denzel Washington
Denzel was born on December 28, 1954. He began his career in theater. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in the Broadway revival of Fences, by August Wilson, in 2010. He won 2 Academy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards. My favorite Denzel Washington movie has to be Remember the Titans.
Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.
I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me - spiritually and financially.
This Week’s Trivia Question
The 12 Days of Christmas may be my least favorite Christmas song but I love this trivia question! In total, how many gifts were given in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?
This Week’s Did You Know
Water makes different sounds depending on its temperature! If you've listened to boiled water being poured, you'll discover it makes a different sound to cold water as its energy molecules are moving around at a much faster rate. Cold water has a lower pitched tone and sounds heavier for some reason.
Something To Talk About!
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Awesome Marriage This week
AM Podcast: Answering Tough Listener Questions | Ep. 536
Some of my favorite podcasts are those when we answer your questions. These are tough but important ones. Join Lindsay and me this week!
AM YouTube Channel:Marriage Boundaries in an Online Workplace
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AM YouVersion Plan: An Awesome Marriage Christmas
In this four day plan, we will look at four things you can do as a couple to reduce the stress and anxiety of the season and focus on Jesus.
This Week’s Trivia Answer:
There were 364 gifts in the 12 Days of Christmas.