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A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Investment – 21 February 2008
By Mary T. Hoffman

In a way, we humans are God’s investments. To each one of us He has given abilities (talents) to maximize. Are we giving our Creator a good return for His investment?

Because we have free choice, it is up to us to determine how we will use our abilities: we can squander and self-indulge; or we can learn, grow, and fulfill the purpose for which we were created.

In Genesis, God gives us humans the responsibility for taking care of His creatures: we are to be good stewards (caretakers, managers) of His earth and all that is in it. Would you say that most of those “made in His image” have done a good job? Judging from the deterioration of the environment, wars, and enormous escalation of cruelty and slaughter of billions of His nonhuman animals, the answer is “no.”

In Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25, “talent” refers to the monetary unit of that time. This parable is about a man about to leave on a journey and who entrusts each of his three slaves with talents (money) according to their abilities: Five talents for the first slave, two for the second, and one for the third. The one who was entrusted with five talents, traded with them and gained five more. Likewise, the one with two talents, gained two more; but the slave with one, hid it for safekeeping until the master’s return. With this short story Jesus illustrates that those who put their gifts to good use will be rewarded but those who don’t, will be punished.

Unless humans change course and start taking care of God’s earth and all His creatures, both human and nonhuman, they will destroy themselves. Is that the return we want to give God for his investment?

The best, most effective way to reverse this downward spiral is to start living by God’s original intent as plainly stated in Genesis 1:29:

29. Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you.”

It’s time to take responsibility. Wishful thinking and allowing ourselves to be led astray by those who are blinded by their own greed and corruption must stop. The solution is very simple: Go Vegan!

Also visit:
http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes.html
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/index.html

Go on to: George Washington – 22 February 2008
Return to: The Lord’s Prayer – 20 February 2008
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