GIVE TO THE ONE WHO BEGS
Carey Madding
Today's Scripture: “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Hebrews 13:16, ESV
Theme: Do good, share sacrificially, please God.
READING WITH PARTIAL VISION
Have you ever heard that someone has “selective hearing”? Maybe you’ve thought this applied to your spouse or kids. They can hear anything they want to hear... and can totally block out the unwanted call of a parent or the prattle of a spouse. I find that I have also had selective blinders on when I read the Word of God.
The Sermon on the Mount has so very many Scriptures that we quote: the Beatitudes, the Lord’s Prayer, the passage about not being anxious because God cares for you as He cares for the sparrows. The “Golden Rule” is found here. The instruction to “Turn the other cheek” comes from this sermon! What is surprising is another verse which I lived many years without ever really seeing: “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42, ESV). How could I have read, “turn the other cheek” and “walk the extra mile” and missed the very next verse?
BE PREPARED
Several years ago, when we had very little expendable income, Mike asked for cash for his birthday and for Christmas in lieu of gifts. We got small bills and put an envelope in both vehicles so that he had money to give away whenever he was asked. He pointed out this verse to me one time when I was skeptical of the person he had just blessed with some of this money. The verse does not say to judge the one who begs or decide if they will use the money wisely. It doesn’t promise that the money will not be used to buy drugs or alcohol. It just says, “give to the one who begs from you.” So that’s what we began to do.
When a mom is selling water bottles on the side of the road, we give her $10 instead of the $3.00 she requested for two bottles of water. When the guy on the corner asks for a handout, we give. But it is hard to stay in that place of being both willing and prepared to be generous.
A few months ago, we were approached but had no cash. Guess what? He had a PayPal account, and I could contribute that way. Just recently, he reached back out to me via PayPal and requested another donation. I was a bit “miffed” until I read his note about needing a hotel room for his family in the bitter cold. How had my heart grown cold? I remembered this verse, so we gave. This week, we saw a man with a sign. I had cash, but this time it was Mike who was skeptical: “But, he has a new coat and backpack!!” Even though he usually instigates generosity, he hesitated. Though we gave, we did not immediately follow up with an offer of a meal or a ride. We now see this as a missed opportunity.
Make It Personal: Check your initial instinct when you are asked to help. Jesus was always willing to give of Himself. If He is pleased with a little cup of water given in His Name, He will be pleased with your intentional generosity to those He puts in your path.
Pray: Lord, help me to internalize Your call to generosity—not only to big organizations and causes; not only to tithe in my church—but to care for Your children. Open my eyes and heart to opportunities to bless people so that I can share with them Your love and care for them. Keep me in a place of willingness to give sacrificially when You ask it of me. In Your Name I pray. Amen.
Read: Luke 6:27-36, Mathew 5:38-42
Weekly Memory Verse: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21, ESV