Nehemiah 2:17-20

Nehemiah 2:17-20
English Standard Version (ESV)

 If you won the lottery, what would you do?
  If you're like me at all, you think about all the things you might do for yourself.  You contemplate the life of leisure you might lead and the freedom that lottery winnings might give you.  You dream of cars and houses and shiny, fancy things.  It's fun.
  But Nehemiah makes a critical point here for me and others like me.  Nehemiah recognizes that because God's hand was upon him for good, he was strengthened and enabled to serve others.  The blessings that God poured into Nehemiah's life were not simply for Nehemiah's benefit--they were to benefit others, and so Nehemiah followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and went forth to bless others.  By doing so, one blessing enriched the lives of many, rather than just one.
  May we look within to see how we have been blessed, and may we have the wisdom to look without to see how those blessings might benefit the entire community, rather than just ourselves.