Do You Do Enough To Get To Heaven?

So as I listened to Father Wayne give his sermon this past Sunday, I wondered if I had been leading a selfish life.  Surely my wife and I give $10 to the Church in a small envelop when we attend Church, but is that enough? Am I being selfish? In other words, am I giving enough to get to Heaven.  Is there more I could be doing?

His sermon was regarding the Gospel (Mark 12: 38-44). A part of which reads:

He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.

To put this in perspective, Father Wayne said that in the days of Jesus, women had no status in life unless they were tied to a man, be it their father or husband.  He said that when a husband died, this meant his wife had no source of income.  He said that widows were among the poorest of the poor.

Father said that essentially many rich people gave from their disposable income, but this poor widow gave everything she had.  She was putting all her Faith in God.  She was saying that she believed, and this alone was worth giving everything.

So here I'm thinking, "I just gave $10. I make a lot more than that.  Is this enough?"

Father Wayne then told a story that was said to him by another Priest.  (And, for the record, I might torture this story, but I think I get the basic idea right here.)  He said that priest had a dream that he was standing in a long line to get to Heaven.  When you got to the gate you were to tell of your accomplishments.  The Priest thought he was a Priest, so he had helped many people.  He should be able to easily get to Heaven.

However, in front of him was Mother Theresa.  When she got to the gate, she told of all her accomplishments.  She said that she had influenced many people.  The gatekeeper said, "You could have done more."

While the Priest had felt great about his chances of getting to Heaven, now he doubted himself.  Did he do enough? Could he have done more?

This got me to thinking.  I like to think I'm a good dad and husband.  I'm a respiratory therapist and I influence people every day, even save lives. So I'd like to think my accomplishments would be enough. But now I doubt this.  Now I'm thinking I could do more.

When we give a $10 tithe, is this from our disposable income or livelihood.  Do we give enough for this to be an accomplishment worthy of Heaven?

So I thought about this all day Sunday after Mass, and all day Monday as I was working.  Then this morning the answer came to me just after I crawled out of bed:

I do not know if we give enough to get to Heaven, only God can answer that question.  Still, I believe my wife and I both give from our livelihood, we always have.  

How did I come to this conclusion?  It's simple.

Since my wife and I met, we have given 100% of our disposable income.  We have sacrificed it all. Everything we have done, every cent we have made, has gone to our family.  We have a house we are not proud of because of this.  We have two old, dilapidated cars that our kids make fun of because of this. We have sacrificed our own hobbies for the good of our family.

Still, if we were to stand before God right now, or in front of the man by the gate, would our accomplishments be enough? Have we done enough to get to Heaven? Have I done enough to get to Heaven?

Now I pose to you this question: "Have you done enough to get to Heaven?"