Charity

Wednesday's Devotion (4-12-06)

"Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again." Luke 6:30 (KJV)

This isn't quite the easiest verse in the Bible to obey. If someone asks for food money on the streets, some of us immediately think, "I'm not giving them money. They don't want food, they want alcohol or drugs!" Well, what if they do really want food? It's not our place to judge whether or not a person will do what they said they would with what we give them. It's our job as believers to just give and not worry about what they do with it, just know that you did the right thing. In other words, give people the benefit of doubt when it comes to charity. Don't assume that they will do something bad with your money, assume that it is for what they said it is for. Whatever people ask for, we should be ready and willing to give it. If you're really worried about what people are going to do with your money, then here's a suggestion. If they ask for food and you don't think that they'll use your money for food, then take the person out to dinner yourself. Make sure it is used for food! Or are you too embarrassed to be seen with a dirty homeless person? If you're too embarrassed then just give them the money and don't judge them! We shouldn't be embarrassed to help people, and we shouldn't be embarrassed to be seen with people that nobody else wants to be seen with.

Now, the second part of this verse is what I have a real problem with: "...and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again." When people steal from me, I have a tendency of wanting my stuff back. I would much rather hunt the person down than let them steal from me. BUT we're not supposed to ask for it back, if they need it bad enough to steal it... Then let them have it! Thankfully, I've been fortunate enough to only have a couple of things stolen from me. If it happens again, I have to learn to just let it go. It's not worth worrying over, and it's not worth starting trouble over. If someone steals something from me, they must need it more than me. I need to remember that, but it's very hard to remember when you absolutely NEED to remember. Anyone else have that problem? We remember how we should act in a situation before the situation happens, but when it happens... We forget and lose control of the situation. That is probably my biggest problem with obeying the scriptures.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this message and for all things. Please forgive us of all our sins and we forgive all those who've wronged us. Please help us to give to those who ask and not to try and get back what is stolen from us. Give us will power to do and remember what we need to do in situations. In Jesus name. A-men!

God bless!

Hope you enjoyed. Please post your thoughts on this topic, on the message board or in our Guestbook.