"Sometimes I feel I'm being punished by going to work every day, paying my bills on time and still managing to save a little money. God forbid the day comes when I need assistance and I'm told no because I was too responsible"
The act of doing good, can sometimes seem like it does more bad than good. Sometimes it seems like it's harder to do great things and far less rewarding. When I was a child, I never got free lunch because my mother made too much money. I was devastated! I didn't want to be the only one with a packed sandwich while everyone else ate pizza and chicken nuggets. The same theme followed me to early adulthood. I didn't qualify for a program that lowered rent to something I could afford, because my $33,000 salary was too high for my single self, despite the bills and college loans I had to pay back. Perhaps if I had a +1, I would have qualified.
The quoted comment above stemmed from a new re-entry initiative that targets recent felons. This initiative offers free housing, $30,000 a year stipend and free college education to those who have recently been released from prison.
I know what some of you are thinking. "You mean to tell me in order to get a degree for free, all I had to do was commit a crime?" It seems unfair. Not just to you, but to all those who found it necessary to highlight how unfair it is. For all those who noted how hard they had to work to make $30,000 a year and to afford housing. For all those hard workers who have falsely adopted the idea that nothing works in their favor. And for those, like many, truly believe that "no good deed goes unpunished". This one is for you.
GOD'S REWARD WILL BE FAR GREATER THAN ANYTHING EARTH CAN GIVE.
Although it may sound not as enticing as free lunch - or free education - you will be rewarded. Your hard work is not going unnoticed and you are certainly not being punished for working as hard as you do. People with less than you, need the support they're receiving. They need an extra push and a rope connection to get to the top that you're so effortlessly climbing. That's not to put anybody down, but to be frank. They need help. They need resources.
That doesn't mean you stop working. That doesn't mean you denounce all the good you've done in this world so you can get the help that you feel you need. It doesn't mean that your efforts are in vain because you're not receiving as much support as those with less. It means you show compassion and keep working hard.
Things will get rough for you, just like it got rough for those you think don't deserve the amount of support they're receiving. It will not be easy for you, just like it has not been easy for those inmates who've changed their lives and are now trying to make an honest living - with no education and nowhere to live.
Do not degrade your favor on the account of worldly resources. Do not stop working because you feel like you're not getting what you deserve - or because you think others are getting more. Worldly resources are minute and worldly recognition waivers. It does not stretch and it is not consistent. God's resources, however, are infinite. God's recognition is forever. So keep working hard. Keep making good decisions and operating with love. Keep striving to be the most Christ-like version of you, so that you can receive more of God's favor and glory. That my darlings, is the only resource you'll ever need.
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