Then Let Them Eat Cake

The story goes that during the days before the French Revolution advisers to the monarchy told the king and queen that the people were unhappy because there was no bread to eat.  To which Queen Marie Antoinette responded, "Well then let them eat cake."

Like most legends of this kind, there is serious doubt as to whether she ever actually made the statement.  But it has been attributed to her enough that it really sums up the indifference that the French aristocracy had towards the lower class.  The idea that the aristocracy were so out of touch that not only had they never been without, they could not even conceive of it.

We get a laugh when those at the top are shown to be spectacularly out of touch.  On the TV show "Downton Abbey" when it was suggested that they meet on the weekend, the Dowager Countess replied, "What is a week-end".  Then there are stories of politicians who are amazed at how grocery scanners work or don't know how many houses they own.  Many politicians go out of there way to show that they have that common touch.  So they eat their Philly cheese steak sandwich and drink a beer in a bowling alley before they get back into their SUV motorcade and head to the airport and climb aboard the private jet.

The point is not to pick on rich people.  The point is that we can all become indifferent to the things that are around us.  There are things that we see every day and we become used to them.  Or it is a situation that based on our life experiences doesn't even seem like a problem.  One summer when I was working at camp, the camp director posed a challenge to the staff.  The challenge was not only to be willing to help, but also to be watchful.

You see everyone who works at the camp would be willing to help.  If that wasn't in your nature, you never would have applied for the job.  But the challenge was to be watchful for opportunities.  The challenge was to be invested enough so that needs became evident and then assign yourself the job of taking care of them.

As Christians we have a similar call towards the world around us.  Every day we pass those who are in need.  The needs may be physical, economical or spiritual, but the needs exist.  The trick is for us to be watchful of these needs.  We need to see these needs for what they are and assign ourselves the job of letting these people see the love of God through us.  Too often though we are telling the world to eat cake, when they are in desperate need of the bread of life.

Watch this video from Pastor Chris.

It is the mission of every Christian to show love; first to God then to each other.  We need to look for those opportunities to show God's love to those around us who need to see it, and then assign ourselves the job of letting that love shine through us.