There's no such thing as a free lunch! Unexpected generosity is frequently greeted with suspicion, for all too often gifts have strings attached and are not true gifts. Wisely, we learn to be wary of promises of no down payment, the "free gifts" advertised on television, the dream of something for nothing. . . .
Everything has its price. . . . Not surprisingly, we are impatient with those who do not pay their way or "pull their weight." So society's "gift" of welfare assistance to its poorest and most helpless is a grudging one at best, and we are merciless with the cheaters (those who cannily or cynically beat the system) when they are caught. . . .
The prodigality of God's generosity is hard to grasp, and it's equally hard to grasp and to celebrate how rich we really are. . . .
If we are to believe the message of Scripture and the message of Christ, there is such abundance that we we can stop counting, such abundance that quantities are meaningless. . . .
This is hard to believe. I have to confess, though, that like most of the human race, I have a genius for looking in the wrong direction and missing the point completely. And I must confess too that math has never been my strong point. Maybe it's time to throw away the calculator and rethink — or repray? — my spiritual arithmetic.
— Margaret Guenther, Just Passing Through: Notes from a Sojourner