Thoughts on sacrifice

Recently I have felt convicted about my lifestyle, not that I am driving a Lexus or dining on shrimp cocktails, but still convicted. I am disabled by my chronic health conditions. I receive disability and my husband has a job with above the national average pay. We have good insurance coverage and a retirement plan. I checked on the internet and we are considered in the top 25% of Americans in income. All I could think was, are you kidding me? This only convicted me more. To that end I started thinking about others, people without jobs, people living in poverty, in other countries and in slavery working in substandard factories in the Third World. Now, I was convicted even more. . . . .

Now, what to do about my feelings of conviction. The word sacrifice came to me. Sacrifice. Wikipedia states that sacrifice,used figuratively, is in the general meaning "to give up something valuable for a higher purpose". What can that mean to me in my life, with the weight of conviction that I was feeling?

After thought, I have decided to "sacrifice" in my life. Here are a few things I have come up with:

1. Increase my giving to the Salvation Army. This organization helps people in disasters all over the world and locally in my county.

2. Increase my giving to Gospel for Asia. This organization trains native missionaries to take the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Asia.

3. Make sure that I am meeting my giving for my local home church.

4. Purge much of my MANY extras to donate to a local thrift store run by a local church to benefit former drug users (women) to reunite with their families.

5. Buy less.

6. Put myself on a restricted budget for a specified amount of time to really learn to live with less (to be blogged on later).

7. Read up on life in the Third World countries.

8. Read more on simple living, making do with less, etc.

9. Read my Bible and really take to heart God's Word to us regarding the poor.

This is where I am going to start. I will be writing on this subject more as it is very dear to me. Please leave any thoughts on this subject as I begin my quest to be less of me and more of them. Be blessed.