Nehemiah 10:28-31

Nehemiah 10:28-31
English Standard Version (ESV)

  It's tough to give things up.  In a consumerist society, we're accustomed to getting what we want, when we want it.  If a certain place doesn't have our desires, we can usually go somewhere else.  What happens, then, is that we become selfish -- we grow so used to having our every need and want met that, when they aren't, we are shocked because we have started to think that the world exists to meet our needs.  The world then shrinks down, because what only matters is what serves to meet our needs.  It becomes all about us.
  So what God calls us to do is give things up.  We give up working on a day every week.  We give up some of the money we earn and some of the food we can eat, and we are reminded that it's not all about us, that there is a world beyond us, and when we look up to see it, we see some jarring things -- we see hurt and pain and need, and we see other people around us.  By not focusing on ourselves, we recognize that we are part of a community, and that we have a role to play in this community, a role beyond simply taking.
  So God calls us to give things up.  It isn't easy, but when we sacrifice, we re-enact in a very small way God's selfless love.  We are reminded that there is a bigger world beyond us, and we are oriented towards that world to go out into it and serve others.