It is very easy to take even our breath for granted
But everything is simply a gift
Even the things we think we earned
Even the ones we think we deserve
There is someone out there who works harder than you and still cannot hope to have a fraction of what you’ve been given.

Isn’t it then arrogant to go through life so unconsciously
Not taking the time to pause and think deeply about everything we have
Not taking time to realize that everything we’ve achieved or accumulated are gifts
Your beauty, your health, your wealth, your sharp mind, your intellect, your laughter, your talents even your purpose are all gifts
He could have chosen someone else but He chose you.

Even the greatest love of our father is a gift
One that we have access to because of a costly sacrifice
That love that makes it possible for us to have or be what we are today
But we do not stop to think about what it cost
We take it for granted.

We go through life with heads swollen by what we are or have and hearts puffed up by overexpressed egos
We sometimes appear charitable
We sometimes mask our pride
We may even give our body to be burned
We forget that people may see us as we want them to percieve us
But the master sees us exactly as we are.

We become so blinded by our heights
We lose touch with reality
We exist in delusions of grandeur
We forget we are but dust
Not better than the mud we step on
Clay pots who can speak because the master lent us His breath
We forget we are because He said we should be
And the day He says we should cease
Is the day we know nothing was really ours.

The rich man considered his storehouse and became puffed up
He said to himself I have labored, I can now rest, eat and be merry
But the master said, you are a fool, today I will take back my gift, now tell me what happens to what you have gathered
The master wants you to do and have great things
Infact you should do and aim for great things
But he wants those things to be for his service one way or the other.

We are because he gifted us his breath
The gift he gave us for a purpose
The only way to live is to shine the light His love brought into darkness
To speak up for the oppressed
To help and serve in anyway we can
To make our work meaningful
To be purposeful about what we do
To live using our full potential and die empty of the gifts the master placed in us.

But most importantly
We must go through life constantly asking that the master tries our heart
So we do not lose touch of the reality of who we are beneath the labels and status.