"Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all."
-Proverbs 22: 2

Equal?

In American culture we are taught the importance of getting ahead, to be number one. We are taught to want a bigger house, a better body, a faster car, or a more important job...in order to make more money. There is intense competition between people to achieve more than others, to gain a higher status, more power, more wealth, or more prestige. This can lead us into a pattern of thinking where we believe that we are 'better' than somebody else or that we 'deserve' more than other people. Another mindset on being equal comes from people or special interest groups that fight for their 'position' within our society. They argue about equality and getting a fair deal because they may feel that they are not being treated fairly or equally. Perhaps they feel that life has been unfair to them therefore they deserve something special.

I can easily fall into either one of these traps of thinking. There are times when I believe myself to be better than other people. At other times I feel as if I have not been given equal opportunities, i.e.... something has been 'unfair' to me. How foolish we can allow ourselves to be. Our idea of 'equality' and God's is very different. In God's eyes we are all equal. Romans 14: 11 states, "As surly as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God." It doesn't say only the rich and powerful will bow or that only the poor and weak will confess but rather that EVERY knee will bow and EVERY tongue will confess. Before God we will all be considered and treated equally.

We are in fact all equal. There are 24 hours; 1440 minutes; 86,400 seconds given to each of us every day. It doesn't matter whether you are beautiful or plain, rich or poor, powerful or weak, we are each given the same amount of time. What do we do with that time? Our Lord is a Lord who searches our hearts and minds. Read 1st Samuel 16: 7 below. Or Revelation 2: 23 "...Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds." He searches our hearts and minds. What does He want from us? I believe that God wants our praise. He wants our prayers. He wants us to serve Him and others in His Name. Every one of us is given the same amount of time each day to worship our Lord, to praise Him, to open our hearts in prayer, to serve Him. An 'equal' opportunity given to each of us. What am I doing with my time? What are you doing with yours?

Take a moment and encourage someone this week.

I pray that all is well with you. Please let me know if you have any prayer concerns or praises. Have a great week and remember to smile :), the Lord loves you!

In Christ,

Shan D. Hartsough

"But the Lord said to Samuel, Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."
-1st Samuel 16: 7

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