SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 19
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord — and he will repay you! [Proverbs 19:17]
And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ [Matthew 25:40]
How we treat people is how we treat the Lord, by extension.
The people around me are a reflection of God, His image-bearers [James 3:9-10].
This is why God’s anger is so great against humanity, because humanity is so cruel towards one another.
God has been raped, tortured, spit on, taken advantage of, lied about, mocked, robbed, neglected, abused, sexually and verbally and physically and emotionally abused.
When we do it to others, we do it to Him!
The opposite is also true, every kind word, every good deed, every act of mercy or forgiveness or compassion or kindness, all these things are done to Him as well.
He feels every sorrow, He delights in every smile.
Too often we blame God for the condition of the world, but the fact is we are responsible for the way the world has become.
People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. [Proverbs 19:3]
They accuse God of neglect and cruelty for allowing bad things to happen, when the devastation and suffering present in this world is the direct result of our mismanagement and follow.
God is not passive, God is not absent; He is present and experiencing the horror of what humanity has unleashed on the earth – this is most evident in Jesus’ cruel death.
God designed this world to be cared for and managed by us, and one day He will hold us accountable for how we treated it, its inhabitants, and therefore by extension Himself.
Where will I see God today, who will God be revealing Himself to me through?
Will I lend to them, therefore to the Lord?
PRAYER:
Lord, forgive me for forgetting that You are present in EVERY person I meet; may I treat You with the same love I need and expect from You.
‘The fear of the LORD leads to life: then one rests content, untouched by trouble.’ And ‘He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.’ These seem to be to main verses which spoke to me. Each day I must walk with my God. Each morning I need to greet Him and acknowledge Him and talk with Him. He is my Source of power for the day. He is my instruction book for the day in all I do and say. He’s my purpose, my agenda. I must stop, look and listen to His word always so that I will be wise and not a fool.
Help me to be discerning also this day as I do Your will. Thy will be done always. The fear of the Lord leads to LIFE!
Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy name,
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
In earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive them who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory
For ever and ever. Amen, Amen.