A New Year

Sacrifice. That is my New Year’s resolution. I committed to sacrificing more in 2015 because of what I learned the past four days from a Christian conference in Indianapolis. The conference is called IndyCC and it was amazing! After listening to speakers, worshipping God through song, and hanging out with friends, there are some important lessons that I learned and would like to share. 

The first interesting teaching I heard came from a pastor named Darren Whitehead. He talked about the four ways people are compensated: wage, rent, royalties, and privilege. Wage is where you do an hour’s work and receive a fair hour’s pay. Rent is where you do the least amount of work you can and still receive what you want. Royalties are where you do something once and receive compensation for an unlimited amount of time. Finally, privilege is where you do nothing, yet receive the best compensation and treatment. 

The main message from this lesson was that we shouldn’t live life just because we can afford to. I learned that I need to help people by sacrificing myself, my energy, and my time, instead of only helping people when there is no cost to me. This way of living is described in the Bible through “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” in Luke 10: 25-37. In short, two people ignore a suffering man on the side of the road because they are determined to arrive in the city on time. The third passer-by stops, sacrifices his time and efforts treating the helpless man, and pays for his shelter in a nearby inn. Only after that does the helper go on his way. 

If you haven’t realized it yet, God’s timing is impeccable. One day after Darren explained the Good Samaritan philosophy, God tested me while I was at lunch. Five of my Cru friends and I had walked to the Circle Centre Mall food court. We had planned on talking about how the conference was going. However, God wanted me to walk the walk instead of talking the talk as it is said in the Bible in 1 John 3:18:

“Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”

 As I was sandwiching some tables together to make room, I was tapped on the shoulder by a stranger. He was about my age and had just been released from the Indianapolis jail earlier that morning. His name was Jonathan and he asked me if I could give him some money for a bus ticket so that he could go back home to Chicago. I was perplexed. 

Usually in these types of situations, I don’t know whether the person asking for money is telling the truth or lying, especially in a big city. In the past, I would’ve just given him some money and told him to go on his way. However, I remembered what Darren had told me earlier: “Stop living out of your expenses. Sacrifice yourself when you see someone in need.” 

As I looked over my shoulder, I saw my five Christian brothers sitting down, waiting to enjoy lunch with me. I knew then that God wanted me to help Jonathan in more ways than just giving him a couple of extra dollars. So I invited him to sit with us and for the next hour and a half we talked about what it means to be a Christian. Together as a team, my friends and I helped answer Jonathan’s questions. Eventually, he said he wanted to be saved by God. 

Wow! What an experience that was. Not only did we sacrifice our lunchtime to teach someone about God’s love, but we gave him a Bible and pooled money together for his bus ticket home. God tested us and we actually responded. It is experiences like that where my faith in Jesus and God is reinforced. It also reminded me that God’s system isn’t like school. He doesn’t teach us all of these lessons and makes us read the Bible so that at the very end we hope to pass the big exam. He tests us every day, in big ways and small, because that’s what being a Christian is about. It’s a lifestyle, not an experiment.  

Now that I have stepped into a fresh new year, I hope my lifestyle in 2015 and beyond becomes one of sacrifice. I had some of the best experiences of my life in 2014: IUDM, Camp Tecumseh, Germany, Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity, Cru, college life, How I Met Your Mother, IndyCC, etc. However, I know that if I commit myself to this resolution, God will provide for me in ways I can never foresee. I challenge you as well to sacrifice yourself this year. You never know when God will tap you on the shoulder. Happy New Year everybody!