God, you’ve told us that the more that we dedicate our lives to love - and to giving that love away - the more that we are growing towards grace.
But we have to admit that we often struggle to live out that kind of generous love. Sometimes we simply get absorbed in our little corner of your world and lose sight of the bigger picture.
And sometimes we avoid living out that kind of sacrificial love because - to us - it seems like your kingdom has terrible arithmetic, God. You tell us to "follow a way of living in which giving is the priority," but we’ve absorbed the message that says that the wisest course of action in life is to "get." We're told to look out for #1, that what we acquire - or do not possess which others do - defines our value, and that we should see our fellow beings as competitors through a lens of scarcity and fear.
We often get it wrong, so we come asking for grace and mercy. Give us eyes to see where we've let priorities other than yours guide us. Give us wisdom to listen - not to the clashing gongs and clanging cymbals of greed, fear, and cynicism - but instead to the still, small voice of your love's life-giving wisdom.
Amen.
