Giving up.

No, I am not giving up on life and this is not a post about how terrible I think my life is; I have just lately been wondering what I would be willing to give up in order to serve God more completely.
Yesterday in chapel, we were presented with an opportunity, but almost more of a challenge to donate our favorite item of clothing to a clothing drive here at school.  I began thinking, seriously, if I would be willing to give up my favorite thing to someone less fortunate.  The reason they stated, was because we often donate our cast-offs, things that are out of style, don't fit, or have gotten worn, but this time they want us to give something we love, so that someone else can feel pretty and confident in the item of clothing they recieve.
So, I sat there thinking, would I be willing to give up my favorite piece of clothing? Should I really even be considering it? Shouldn't I just be willing to give up anything? After all, scripture says in Matthew 25:40  “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"  I guess the question then becomes, am I willing to give up a sweater for my King?
For me, it was a sobering thought. 
As I continued to think about this, I thought about the difference between giving up something tangible like clothes, and giving up something different like time or commitment. 
So say I was, in fact, willing to give up my sweater, but am I willing to give up my time to read my Bible, or help someone, or volunteer at church, or do I simply say, "I'm not going to get up early and read my Bible; I'll do it when I have time." or "I'm really busy, I can't talk about this now, can it wait til later?" For myself I fear that the question I pose, would I be willing to give up my favorite sweater for someone who needs it? then turns into, would I be willing to give up a little extra time or commitment for someone who needs it? or furthermore, for my Savior?  Unfortunately for me and probably many others, that answer many times is a staunch 'no.'
While all these thoughts were still floating around in my mind, I was reading my Old Testament book and came across a section talking about when Jonah became so angry about the plant that provided him shade being eaten by a worm. "Jonah became angry to the point of death over a mere plant, but didn't care at all for the thousands of people in Nineveh." Going back to the clothing drive, do we have more concern for the clothes hanging in our closet, or the things parked in our driveway, or sitting under our tree than for the people of Bolivar, St. Louis, Arnold, or worse yet, than for Jesus Christ himself?