Deuteronomy 15:9, 10 Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. --NIV In the name of the One Who blesses both those who receive and those who give, amen.
The children of Israel had a law that every seven years debts were cancelled. In this way, no one ever became an impoverished victim. If someone were poor, he could borrow, and the debt would be cancelled in a few years.
In today's passage God warns His people not to be stingy toward the poor using the excuse that the year of canceling debts was close at hand. Instead He urged them to be generous with the poor.
In our world today it is not easy to be generous with the poor and a good steward at the same time. Part of the problem is that our government in its wisdom has determined that it will take our riches from us and give them to whomever it chooses. Combined with that is the fact that it takes quite a bit of time to sort through what people say in order to determine whether a person is simply being lazy, or if they really have a need. It is, at least to some extent, necessary for us to try to sort through it, since we are told that if a person will not work, he should not eat.
We also find that there are those people who are chrinically in debt. They max out their credit cards, file bankruptcy, and then go an do it all again. This is a very frustrating situation, but it is exactly the sort of situation that God's law spoken of in the first part of chapter 15 was intended to cover. Still we struggle with not wanting to be an enabler. But in the end we are limited in knowledge, wisdom, and insight. We can never completely sort it all out. So, if we are going to err, how should we err? Well, in light of this passage we should err far to the side of generosity. After all, we all want to be blessed. More than that, what we do we do for Christ. If someone is dishonest, lazy, or habitually down and out, that doesn't negate our good work. Another person's dishonesty has no effect at all on the value of our works before God. In fact, if anything they make them all the more precious because of the contrast. Amen.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, forgive us for the times when we are stingy with our poor brothers. Always remind us that what we do for others we do for Jesus. With that in mind, help us to give our very best to those who are poor, and not to greet them with closed fists, amen.
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