To Whom Much is Given

Photo by Jomar on Unsplash

I didn’t watch the House Oversight Committee proceedings yesterday, but I did go online to watch clips.  This morning, I saw a powerful video of Representative Elijah Cummings essentially ministering to Michael Cohen, the President’s former lawyer and self-professed fixer.  I won’t focus on the hearings or even the specifics of what Mr. Cummings said, but his words – delivered with empathy and compassion - had a familiar resonance: “We must do better, because we are better than this.”

On the third day of January this year at the opening of the 116th Congress, I was blessed to be in that very room for a reception hosted by Mr. Cummings. He gave a poignant speech and a call to action to those there. He said: “I am not here to be blessed but to be a blessing.  We get blessed, so we can bless. You have supported me, so this is just a little to give back to you. What is a preacher without a congregation? What is a teacher without students? I’m not here to just feed myself, because I didn’t get here by myself…I don’t want to die without doing everything in my power to make a difference.”

He went on to share parts of his testimony about how his teachers, fellow students, professors, and others helped him to get to where he was.  Of note, he revealed that he had been in special education during his early years, but he had people in his life who looked beyond his current Now imagine that: going from a student, who was mis-labeled as “a slow learner” to the Chairperson of the House Oversight Committee! Somebody pushed him.  Someone encouraged him. Someone believed wholeheartedly in him, and I’m sure somebody prayed for him.

Photo by Luca Baggio on Unsplash

When I heard him speak, several things dropped in my spirit:

1. Don’t despise humble beginnings, whether that is in your upbringing, ministry, job, or whatever. God is not a small God, and He can take what people deem trivial and transform it into something significant. He specializes in exalting what man views as lowly. Look to your own life as confirmation. Zechariah 4:10: Who dare despises the day of small things, since the seven eyes of the Lord that range throughout the earth will rejoice when they see the chosen capstone in the hand of Zerubbabel?
2. Serve those whom God has placed in your life. We get this concept, so twisted. The goal is not to “make it” so we can be waited on, but to attend to (assist, help) others. This goes from the presidency to the pulpit and all leadership positions in between. Jesus said in Matthew 20:26-28: Whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Who are we serving?
3. The Spiderman quote: With great power comes great responsibility. Like many secular quotes, it’s a rip-off from biblical scripture.  Luke 12:48 states: For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more. I am taking this scripture out of context, but essentially the full meaning of this and the surrounding verses tell us not to be ignorant of God’s will, and if we know better, then we must do better for ourselves and for others.  To those whom God has given much insight, light, grace, revelation, then God expects much of us. Read Luke 12:41-48 to get the full point of what Jesus was saying to his disciples.

God has placed each of us in a position of influence, whether we realize it or not. We have a moral obligation to make the most of what God has given to us, spiritually and naturally. Let us honor God and one another by “doing everything in our power to make a difference,” while we are here to do so.

Remain encouraged.

© 2019 by Antoinette V. Barber