There’s a temptation

To not try generous things,

Because they will not be appreciated,

And wasted on a people that do not care,

That do not see us

Or what we contribute.

We protest that we are unseen

Yet we hide in the shadows of apathy,

Mixing genuine exclusion with our own reluctance,

For fear of rejection and embarrassment come together

All to make a potent mix of good reasons why

Our gifts were never given.

So we live life like

Like perfectly good tomatoes

Left too long uneaten.

Slowly.

Going.

Bad.

Imagine if God had not made beautiful things

Because we would not appreciate them.

What if He chose to blot out the stars at night,

And only allowing astrologers access

To see the blazing balls of gas in the universe?

What if He simplified the cells in our bodies

And replaced our mitochondria

With cheap second hand miniature batteries

Saying to Himself

“They will all die one day, so why bother”?

No. Beauty was a choice, and His wonders were not just functional,

But intentional:

He made the stars beautiful though many of us

Would not give them a second glance on most nights,

And though so many of the cells in our bodies die daily

He still made each one gloriously detailed.

Unlike us, He is not selfish with His wonders.

32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.

36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Luke 6:32-36 ESV