Proverbs
11:24-26 One gives freely, yet grows all the
richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever
brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. The
people curse him who holds back grain, but a blessing is on the head of him who
sells it.
Why does God bless those who
give of themselves to help others who are in distress? The answer should be
easy to find. God meets the needs of people not by raining down loaves and
fishes from the sky. He uses people like you and I to bring relief to the
downtrodden. God provides monies and resources to people beyond their own needs
in order for them to faithfully give to others. Christians are conduits used by
God to help others.
It can be overwhelming to
think that God can use any of us to help with the emotional and physical needs
of strangers. This ministry is prevalent in the book of the Acts of the
Apostles in the New Testament. When society cast away the weak and the poor,
the early church reached to them in love and with the scant resources that they
possessed as a community. It is no different today. It is even more imperative
for us given the amount of resources that each of us possess.
Helping others is work. It
takes both physical and spiritual energy to work with the floundering lives of
the poor. In the process of equipping us with tangible resources to meet these
needs, he also equips us spiritually and emotionally. The Holy Spirit is with
us always to empower, guide and refresh us in our calling to reach out to
others.
The righteous thrive because
they know that riches in this world are temporary. The true treasures we seek
will only be found in God’s Kingdom yet to come.