This past week I read an annual report from Opportunity International about their accomplishments in Nicaragua working with the poor. I love and support this Christian nonprofit organization because they are teaching the poor how to become self-sustainable by co-investing with them and providing micro loans for their small businesses. In addition, they are teaching their clients business principles and the Bible. Opportunity International also has a school called “Emprendedora” which means “The Entrepreneurship” School.
One of the stories in the annual report was about a girl who graduated in the very first graduating class of the Emprendedora School in 2016 and she was also the very first person in her entire family to graduate from high school. She graduated with honors and also with the additional agriculture technical certificate offered by the same school. Even though her accomplishment of graduating from high school plus doing it with honors, in addition to being the first one in generations to finish high school was an amazing achievement, what touched my heart the most about the story is that she studied under “only one lightbulb” throughout high school. Her entire house had only one lightbulb!
I shared the story with my husband as we looked around our kitchen and dining room lighting. At that moment, there were fifteen lightbulbs on! The kitchen recessed lights (6) plus the little lights under the cupboards (3) plus the chandelier over the dining room table (5). This girl, not only had to share a very small house and bedroom with her family but studied under only one lightbulb for years. She was so thankful and happy to go to school that one lightbulb was a minor obstacle only. She was also so thankful that her dad made a bicycle (out of used parts) for her to ride to school so the trip now took her fifteen minutes versus the one hour walk each way, that she didn't complain about the lack of lighting in her house.
For a moment I felt guilt but mostly I felt gratefulness in my heart for what God has provided for my family. My husband and I have worked extremely hard to have the material things we now enjoy so we should not feel guilty. Even though I don’t consider ourselves to be rich, I recognize that by any other country’s standards many of us here in America are considered rich and that we live in abundance. I am thankful to God for our work, for our education, and for all the gifts and talents He has entrusted us with. I’m also thankful that we learned the concept of stewardship early in our lives so we could treat all the resources we’re entrusted with appropriately.
Being a good steward is a big responsibility. Stewardship is knowing that what we have is not ours but God’s—including all our talents He deposited in us. When we are entrusted with material possessions, including money, we are to share it with the world—especially for the Gospel to be preached around the world. That is the main purpose for us to have riches in this world.
I challenge you today to look around your house and see how many lightbulbs you have. Then thank God for each lightbulb and for the gift of light in your home. Thank God for every single thing you have in your life, for your children, for your spouse, for your friends, for your family, your work, and your education. But most importantly, thank God for His Light, Jesus, who shines in your home and illuminates your heart with His love and truth. Then share Jesus with others—He is indeed the only lightbulb we need in our homes!