Is Your Battery Dead?

by Alexa Bayouk

One day as I was scrolling through social media, I came across this meme. The image felt relatable. There have been times in my life where I’ve felt completely drained but kept giving and serving. I mentally patted myself on the back for being so noble.

I looked at the image and saw an honorable and self-sacrificing person being taken advantage of by someone who was selfish, and probably spoiled. What the image shows is an imbalance. “The guy on the left shouldn’t be giving so much when he’s got nothing left,” I thought. “If his battery dies, how can he help anyone in the future?”

Then I read the accompanying caption.
I was struck with the ugliness of this “me-first” attitude that had just been kicking around in my mind. It sounded a lot worse in writing than it did in my head. I recognized that this attitude, if it took hold in my life, could deter me from giving and eventually turn me into the self-centered sort of person I saw on the right.

I know God calls us to be cheerful givers and to lay down our lives for our friends. But what if our battery is too low and we have nothing left to give? What does the bible say about that?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” – John 15:5

The reason there is an imbalance in this picture is because the guy on the left is not plugged in to his charger – the source of life, Jesus Christ. If he’s not abiding in the vine (or charger), he can do nothing. But when we abide in Christ, we can give freely and endlessly without ever running out of battery.

So plug yourself in, and keep on giving.