November 1, 2023

Deuteronomy 14: 28, 29 At the end of three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your town, so that the Levites . . . and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows . . . may come and eat . . . and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. (NIV)

The Christian life should be characterized by gratitude and generosity.*

If you want to know God’s heart for the poor, the downtrodden, and the afflicted, all you have to do is read the Old Testament. Benevolence wasn’t just something the people did when they felt so moved. It was the law. Did it make any difference to the recipients of the charity that the donors might not have given with their whole hearts? Probably not much. Did it matter to the givers that there was blessing from God attached to their generosity? I hope so.

God accepted the gifts as if they were an offering to himself.* Jesus reminds us of this truth in a parable found in Matthew 25: 31-46. The point of the story: “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Verse 40) It’s a double blessing: the good feeling you get when you do something for someone in need plus God’s approval. But maybe we need to read a little further. In verse 45, Jesus adds an interesting spin to his previous statement when he says, “Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.”

There may be blessings for those who help the less fortunate, but there are repercussions for those who neglect their duty. They can’t just shrug and say, “Well, I’ll just miss out on the blessing while I keep my time and treasure for myself.” Nope. Jesus said that with that attitude, they will “go away to eternal punishment.” (Verse 46) By adding, “but the righteous to eternal life,” he clearly lumps the ungenerous into the “unrighteous” category.

Be generous, friends. You will be blessed in return. You will be among the righteous and have eternal life. You will not be poorer for having been generous – because what do you have that God didn’t give you in the first place?

Since we cannot express our love by doing anything to profit God directly, God wants us to do something profitable for the poor, who have been delegated the task of receiving Christian love.*