Wedding Guest Asked To "Adjust" Gift
Toby Meyjes, writing for Metro, reports on a wedding guest who revealed she was contacted by newlyweds to say her gift wasn’t generous enough.
The unnamed guest posted to a forum on Mumsnet asking for advice after she was told the £100 cheque she provided wasn’t enough.
She revealed how the couple, who had asked for cash gifts, had emailed to say they were ‘surprised’ by her contribution and suggested an ‘adjustment.’
She went on to say that the bride and groom declared ‘we were surprised that your contribution didn’t seem to match the warmth of your good wishes on our big day.
They added: ‘In view of your own position, if you wanted to send any adjustment it would be thankfully received.’
The wedding guest assumed that the reference to her position was in regard to a recent inheritance. She then asked …
'Should I reply, ring them, ignore it or what?’
The suggestions ranged from ‘cancelling’ the check, to telling mutual friends about the incident, to sending a glitter bomb.
Instead, she chose to respond with the following:
‘I assume this was some sort of mistake?’
Many of us struggle with being as generous as our faith calls us to be. But perhaps the real lesson of this story lies at the other end: Learning to be content with what we receive. Judging others for their lack of generosity comes easy. What’s much harder is to keep one’s own sense of entitlement in check. The world doesn’t owe us as much as we tend to think. When we have to resort to shaming others to get what we want out of them, it might be time to let it go. It’s just not worth forfeiting our contentment, not to mention the likelihood of losing a relationship.
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you' ” (Hebrews 13:5).
No Other Name
CARACAS (Reuters) - A member of Venezuela's Socialist Party has rolled out a variation of the classic Christian "Lord's Prayer" to implore beloved late leader Hugo Chavez for protection from the evils of capitalism.
"Our Chavez who art in heaven, the earth, the sea and we delegates," red-shirted delegate Maria Estrella Uribe recited on Monday at the PSUV party Congress.
"Hallowed be your name, may your legacy come to us so we can spread it to people here and elsewhere. Give us your light to guide us every day," she said in front of an image of Chavez.
"Lead us not into the temptation of capitalism, deliver us from the evil of the oligarchy, like the crime of contraband, because ours is the homeland, the peace and life forever and ever. Amen. Viva Chavez!" she exclaimed to applause.
Though Chavez died of cancer in March 2013, he remains omnipresent in Venezuela. His photo is plastered all over capital Caracas, state TV frequently airs excerpts of his famously lengthy speeches and supporters sometimes don earrings or pendants with an artistic black-and-white rendition of his eyes.
Chavez won over many poor in oil-rich Venezuela with his massive social programs and frequent attacks of what he deemed a "squalid" business elite. Many feel a spiritual connection with the gregarious former soldier, who also hails from a humble background.
Opponents blast what they see as a detrimental personality cult. They also accuse current President Nicolas Maduro of piggy-backing off his predecessor's popularity to distract supporters from shortages of basic goods, an annual inflation of around 60 percent, and sky-high crime rates.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
The world has only been given one Savior. It's not Chavez, Mary, Mohammad, or Buddha. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
Beauty In Self-denial
Autumn is a most beautiful time of year. But isn't it interesting that the colorful, vibrant beauty of fall foliage stems from the process of dying?
As the season changes, temperatures drop and days get shorter. Trees get less direct sunlight, and the chlorophyll in the leaves breaks down.
The lack of chlorophyll reveals yellow and orange pigments that were already in the leaves but masked during the warmer months. — Smithsonian Sparks
Like the beautiful, "dying" leaves of fall, Christians are most beautiful when they learn to walk in self-denial. It is then that the true vibrance of our walk with Christ shines in greatest contrast to worldly experinece.
When life asks no sacrifice of us, our fullest potential for selflessness lies hidden within, just like the hidden, "colorul" chlorophyll lies masked in the green leaves during the warmth of summer. But through trial, or hardship, or even through times of prosperity, when we place the callings of Christ, and even the needs of others above our own fleshly desires, it is then that the beauty of Christ is best manifest in us and through us.
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me" (Matthew 16:24, NIV).
"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20, ESV).