"ALL THAT I GET!"

Luke 18:9-14                            (ESV)
"9 HE also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'GOD, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of "ALL THAT I GET".'
13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'GOD, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted."



Having to admit that I am sometimes like the Pharisee, instead of the tax collector, is truly a humbling admission.  Seeing someone who has an attitude of being better than others can be a nauseating sight.  But we all can be just a little self-righteous when dealing with people that have not been blessed as much as we have, whether we realize it or not.

It can be difficult for a Billionaire to understand the plight of someone who only has a few hundred thousand dollars, or someone who has one hundred thousand dollars to  see the needs of one in debt.  And for someone in debt, but living in the United States to be compared to a hut dweller in a village in some far off jungle seems almost unfair?   When we realize that GOD has allowed us to be in the exact position we are in to grow us into tools HE can use in HIS Kingdom, we can begin to see HIS Plan for our lives.  But we must first realize that we all were Created by the same GOD to accomplish The Purpose HE laid out for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

When our mindset is on "ALL THAT I GET" instead ALL THAT I AM GIVEN we could be placing our abilities on a pedestal in front of GOD.  When we "have our eyes opened" to the fact that even our next breath is a gift from GOD, only then have we started to see things more clearly.  To see SPIRITUAL things with earthly eyes (1 Corinthians 2:14) cannot be done.  We have to have our eyesight adjusted in order to be able to clearly see the REAL things around us (Matthew 6:19-24)!

Having several friends who have had cataract surgery the most common reaction is that they can see things clearly now.  When JESUS "removes the veil" (2 Corinthians 3:12-18) from us we can see things that were right in front of us, but we previously could not see!  Our mindset will then obviously change, for what we see has changed!  But we can only see what is revealed to us, and JESUS is the ONE WHO reveals, and HE can give us "ALL THAT I GET"!

In 1879 a woman who was blind wrote a song called "Take the world, but give me JESUS"!  Fanny J. Crosby could not physically see, but her Spiritual vision was impeccable.  After losing her sight at six weeks of age, Fanny went on to write reportedly over 8,000 hymns, including Blessed Assurance.  Although her physical eyes were damaged, she was able to Spiritually see like few others who had ever lived.  She made the most of "ALL THAT I GET"...............will you??