UNCOMMON GOOD

by Simone Oliver

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:16, ESV)

Well, it’s that season again.  Advent. It is that time when we reflect on the anxious anticipation of the birth of the Christ and what He means to the world (at least when we’re being really spiritual, we might J).  I wish I really spent as much time reflecting on the Christ as I did trying to figure out what to get my loved ones for Christmas.  But anyway… So I was doing what I do very well.  Online shopping!  I’m surfing and browsing, surfing and browsing and I run across a site called “uncommon goods” (www.uncommongoods.com) and believe it or not, that’s what prompted my reflection!  (Sorry, Jesus.) I began to think about the news.  The wars and rumors of wars.  The “T” word. (Terrorism.) State murders of the innocent. Corporate greed.  The exploitation of the poor.  The women and children who always seems to be the spoils of the war and all of that.  Hatred and racism.  Sexism and lust.  You know, all of the news that we have become so comfortable living with that we tune into prime time TV and watch it some more for entertainment and I thought, what if…

What if we, who call ourselves Christians, were less influenced by pop culture and more influence by Kingdom culture?  What would that look like?  I think that it would look like what has become uncommon good!  What if we carried our gifts every day and sprinkled them here and there and wherever our environment dictated?  We could give random gifts of kindness and gentleness on our way to work.  We could gift a troubled co-worker by picking up the slack till the storm is over.  We could give the gift of picking up a dropped coin for a stranger or stopping to chat a moment with the elderly.  And, what if we gifted a smile and an amiable look into the eyes of strangers on an elevator, affirming their humanity and worth?  Affirming that they too are made in Imago Dei?  What would happen if we spread the gift of uncommon good?  I think we would have a revolution!  What if we shared from our substance?  What if we committed to buying one meal per week for some homeless person?  What if we shopped for our elderly neighbor once a month?  Or, shoveled the snow, or cut the grass, or something?  What if we treated a woman in a shelter to a day at a salon or her children to Chuck-E-Cheeses?  These are the gifts that are never forgotten, the gifts that cost so little and mean so much. What if this year for Christmas, we gave some uncommon good?

Let us consider unwrapping ourselves from ourselves and the materialism that overtakes even the best of us.  Let us unwrap ourselves from self-absorption and the idea that if we are not happy, no one can be happy.  Let us unwrap ourselves from the constant desire for more because the eye is never satisfied.  Let us unwrap ourselves from the hatred that causes us to not see the humanity in others.  Let us unwrap ourselves and present ourselves as the gift.  The gift to be used by God for God’s good and God’s glory. Let us do some uncommon good.

                                                   

Simone Oliver has journeyed from tragedy to triumph, from victim to victor, and from surviving to thriving after a horrific, violent attempt to end her life.  She is a passionate preacher, educator, and advocate for women who is committed to the spiritual care of women and girls, bringing healing to their wounded hearts through God's grace.  

Simone is also Executive Director of New Day Ministries, Inc. which she founded with her husband, Allen to combat gender-based violence and create safe sanctuaries in all churches.  

New Day Ministries, Inc.
http://www.new-day-ministries.org
Safe sanctuaries. Healed hearts.