Proverbs 19:17 says, "Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed."
Here are 8 insights/thoughts about this text:
1. "Whoever" implies that anyone who gives to the poor (with proper motives) lends to the Lord and will be repaid.
2. It is godly to be generous to the poor. The poor are the responsibility of the godly.
3. Godly people should desire to do things for the Lord.
4. One way to please the Lord is to be generous to the poor.
5. God rewards generousity.
6. A motivating factor in generousity should be to get repaid (Otherwise, why would he bring reward up?).
7. There is no doubt about God's reward (He will repay him).
8. There is a connection between the poor and God. God identifies with the poor.
6 comments:
Dutch, thanks for the encouragement. I agree that true reward is always more fellowship and knowledge of Christ.
So true. Reminds me of Psalm 113:5-9...
Who is like the LORD our God, who is seated on high, who looks far down on the heavens and the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people.
He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
Our God is definitely the champion of the poor.
good post!
We must always keep in mind though that our first duty is to the poor within the Body of Christ! It is the "least of these, My brethren" that we serve and feed, and suppport as a priority (Matt 25:31-40). Too often aspects of the so-called social gospel take these verses and apply them to anyone who is poor, regardless of their relationship to the Body of Christ. And please note, I am not saying that we shun the lost who are poor. Of course not. But we must start at home, with the Body of Christ, and work our way out from there (Acts 2:44-45).
Too many ignore the poor altogether. Others think giving to secular charities is enough and so sooth their conscience. Some think it is only about money, but all giving must begin with our giving ourselves first and foremost to God for His Service (2 Cor 8:5). But if we are not doing this actively in our own churches and within the Body of Christ around us, then frankly, nothing else we do matters much at all (1 John 3:17)!
~pastorway
Great discussion. I am asking God to help me put legs on these thoughts.
Interesting article from the Statesman. All wrong too. It misquotes and misapplies several Scriptures and takes them out of context. This makes passages that in context speak to the church and to people seeking to be blessed by Christ and applies them to the whole world, and it does not work that way! We do things for the least of these MY BRETHREN (words in caps omitted from the article).
Part of the deep ongoing problem here is 2-fold.
First, the church is failing to be the church! I just finished preaching a 13 message series on our duty to one another in fellowship, and you know what, churches are failing!!
Second, we have come to believe that people are entitled to help from the government, making the government more than it should be, indeed teaching dependence upon politicians and programs instead of humble dependence upon God!
It is not our job to craft public policy according to what Jesus would do. Because Jesus and Paul did not address politics very much at all! Think about it. Jesus addressed paying taxes. He did not encourage lobbying Rome, or petitioning Pilate.
His kingdom is not of this world, we are not citizens here, we are pilgrims just passing through!
Paul said even of ungodly Nero that governemnt was ordained by God and to disobey government was to disobey God, unless the government commanded what God forbids. Other than that he went around preaching the GOSPEL, not political reform. I mean, he even writes and gives commands to those who are slaves. Don't seek to be free - just seek to be the best slave you can be - "Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it;" (1 Cor 7:21; Eph 6:5-8;Col 3:23-24)! How's that for the American dream?
We do not need political action, laws, etc. We need the church to be the church!!! The church should be caring for its widows, orphans, needy, etc. We do not need government involved in helping us do our job. We have God as the Source for all we need. That is more than enough!
Neither do we need to feel that it is our responsibility to undertake the cause of every poor, suffering individual on the planet. We need to take them Christ first and foremost, and we need to care for the Body.
Jesus said the world would know us as His disciples by our love for one another!
Yes we need to love our neighbor as ourself. But if we ever forget that the purpose of that love is to preach the gospel to them then we have no hope. We are not here to further a political or social agenda. We are ambassadors for Christ, seeking to reconcile God and men. Everything else is secondary and not to be a priority!
We need to repent and get it right in the church first.....then we can move on to other venues of service.
For more, you can listen to these sermons:
Series: A Lesson in Obedience - Romans 13
Beware of Covetousness
Sermons on fellowship will be uploaded in the coming weeks....
When up and ready they will be posted here:
TIME in the Word Ministries
PRAISE the LORD!!
As a friend once told me, God is never late, and never early, and ALWAYS faithful.
Phillip
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