Just give

Very few of us … if any … consider ourselves wealthy.  We spend most of our thought on the subject concerned more about what we don’t have rather than what we do.  I know our teenagers do.  It’s almost as though we actively deprive them of anything new, good or valuable.  Dare I say that we adults aren’t any different.  All we have to do is change our frame of reference to see a far different reality.

My weekly reading through Deuteronomy 14 – 20, Psalms 17 – 23, and 1 Chronicles 16 – 22 entails obviously a great deal of history and law, but encompassed within that is a great deal of wisdom.  I would posit that a balanced view of history and God’s law will naturally lead to wisdom.  In any event, in Deuteronomy 15 I was struck by a good bit of wisdom, which also provides an apt reminder of our standing and our responsibility (verses 10 and 11).

Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.  There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need.

First of all, we should ground ourselves a bit.  The command is to “give generously to the poor” … it doesn’t say, “give generously to the poor if you’re not one of them.”  Why?  Because we must recognize that we are NOT one of them.  No matter what we think about ourselves, we have to recognize that we are blessed.  Even if we are the less well off out of all the other people we know, we are still wealthy compared to 99.9% of our world.  There is always someone worse off than us.

Secondly, our wealth is least of all defined by our bank account and / or material possessions.  To think in that way is shortsighted in the extreme.   What does that mean?  It means we’re wealthy with a variety of gifts the Lord’s entrusted to us.  Most all are non-financial, and have to deal with our talents and our time.   I think few of us realize how valuable our time really is, and if we shared even a small portion of what is available to share with others we’d enrich many in ways we couldn’t quantify.

And therein lies what I think is the most poignant part of the message to me in this passage.  When it struck me, I really didn’t fixate much on the giving money aspect of it.  I take that seriously, don’t get me wrong.  Because the point remains, no matter how bad off I am, or how tight I have to make the financial belt, someone always has a financial need more acute than mine.  I particularly love taking the opportunity in incredibly random ways to bless someone … anonymously, even in small ways.  It really is the thought that counts.

But where I think there is a HUGE way to make a difference in blessing those that are “poor” is with our time and talents, and especially with our time.  Don’t misunderstand … I recognize how precious a commodity time is, and the requisite demands on it.  I would also never advocate us taking that precious time away from our primary responsibilities in our spouses, family, health, and workplace (and in that order, by the way), especially given that our spouses and family are usually the victims of erroneous prioritization.

Nonetheless, we have ways to give of our time and to “share freely with the poor and with other [people] in need.”  With the “windshield time” in my commuting back and forth to San Diego, I have great opportunities to spend time on the phone with people in my life … family and friends who, I must admit, without the commute it might be difficult to stay connected with in the daily routine of things.  How I enjoy talking and catching up, hearing about their needs, and praying with and for them.  In the same way, even in the moments when I don’t actually spend time talking with them, I spend time praying for them.  “Wait!” you might say.  “How is that giving to them?”  I would argue it’s the essence of giving to them … giving of something I have that they don’t.  Myself.

I recognize that there are “poor” and there are “poor”.  When most of us read a passage like the above, we think of financially poor folks, homeless or whatever.  I certainly acknowledge that that’s what Moses was talking about, but it would be the pinnacle of a copout for us to take the spirit of that admonition and say, “Well, as soon as I find a poor person, I’ll give them some pocket change.”  The spirit here is that of sacrifice and sharing something in which I have greater possession than someone else.  It’s the spirit of sacrifice that evidences the action of loving the Lord with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength … and our neighbor as ourself.

Giving to the “poor” entails meeting someone’s needs.  I think that’s as deep and technical as it needs to get.  If we have means, and someone has needs … well, that’s a match literally made in heaven.  The problem tends to be more about our willingness to see those opportunities.  And of course, to act upon them. 

As Willy Wonka says in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, “time is a precious thing … never waste it.”  To me, the best way to not waste time is to “give [it] generously to the poor, not grudgingly.”  Let’s seek the Lord prayerfully this week and ask Him to reveal to us opportunities to be generous with our time … even if otherwise seemingly simple ways to give of our time.  Call someone you haven’t talked with in a long time.  Pray for someone who just happens to pop into your mind.  Better yet, call a person you haven’t talked with in a long time and pray for them on the phone.  Stop when you see someone with a broken down car on the side of the road (if it’s safe to do so of course) and help them by calling AAA … or praying for them.  Help an old person leaving the supermarket with a bundle of groceries.  Whatever … it doesn’t matter what it is.  Just give to the poor.

The unmitigated fact about doing so?  Just like it says in the passage … “for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”  I can attest personally and directly … no doubt can many of you … that when I give to the poor, not grudgingly, the BIGGEST portion of blessing is upon me, not on the object of the giving.  Only God can make that 1+1 equal more than 2!!!

Have a blessed week of giving!

MR