What would we stake our life on?

Over the last week, we have witnessed some of the controversies of advertising a prestigious horse race on the side of the Opera House. The question has not just been around gambling but how we use a central icon of Australian culture which is recognised around the world. What do we consider of adding value to our lives and what do we consider central to the way we live them. It would seem quite natural that we consider what are the foundations for our lives and what draws us into relations with others.

We can become very used to valuing who we are by what we own. In fact, this is the dilemma faced by the rich young man. Do we value things first and people second. There can often be a tendency to judge those who have nothing as lazy and lacking motivation to change their lives. Yet Jesus calls us to look at how our attitudes to others and to ourselves need to be in harmony in looking at how we use the resources that are entrusted to us. Do we believe that people are doing the best with what they have received as Brene Brown asks in her book "Rising Strongly"? If we believe that our wealth is solely our own rather than a gift from God then we will tend to be very demanding about what we expect from others. We can hold them at arm's length and distance ourselves from them. 

However, if we believe that each person is made in the image and likeness of God then we need to seek ways in which they can experience our lives as having eternal value. This then calls us to use our resources in a way which recognises that value of every human life and indeed the value of the whole of creation. This fosters an attitude which shifts our focus on external wealth towards internal wealth. This is more about what we seek to become rather than what we seek to own. In shifting our attention on to what lies at the heart of all things we start to notice that our attitude to humanity also shifts. We start to develop a sense of hospitality, generosity and thanksgiving which opens up our hearts and our behaviour to the presence of others. We do see that the central principle should not be about safety and security but rather a vulnerability which allows us to make connections with people more than things. In this, we join with the psalmist who prays, "Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!"