Intentional Generosity

I just finished reading someone’s thoughts that challenged me, and I wanted to share the challenge with you.

Remember back to the Old Testament when Moses shared God’s vision for the people of Israel.  God asked the people to do certain things that go completely against our culture today.  Now, there were many things that would fit that category, but I’m referring to practices that allowed for the poor and seemingly forgotten to be cared for.

For instance, when they harvested their fields, they were to leave the corners so that the poor, the widows, the foreigner, could come and get the crops for food for themselves.  While harvesting, if they dropped any, they were to leave it so there would be something for the poor to get.

Now, in today’s world, we talk about efficiency and productivity so much that we have figured how to get as much as we can out of whatever we are doing.  We make our money go as far as we can so that nothing is wasted.

There is talk about not giving money to those who ask because we don’t know what they’re going to do with it.  We may see the same man in the same three spots asking for the same thing with the same sign, and because we see him so much we don’t take his request seriously.  There is talk about not giving money to certain people because they are lazy and don’t get off their butts to get a job for themselves.

I get it.  I understand those arguments.  I believe in the principles behind the arguments that keep us from giving to these people.  I am with you on that.

But what if God was asking the people to do these things because it keeps the people of Israel from feeling entitled to money or land or food or clothes or whatever?  What if God was asking the people to think about others because it is what God did for us—hearing us in our sin and coming to our rescue through Jesus?  What if God was asking the people to give unconditionally because it would set both groups of people free?

But I don’t really do this.

I mean, we sponsor a child through Gospel for Asia, but we switched to this agency because it was cheaper than Compassion.  (There’s more to that story as well, because we didn’t just stop sponsoring one kid to go with the cheaper one.)  But there’s still that truth to it.  And I don’t even remember that we sponsor her because it just come right out of our account.  I’m not really even involved in it.

As far as other ways of carrying out this principle, I’m having a hard time of even stretching things to come close to fitting it.  I haven’t done anything in a while to do this.  Yes, I feel stirred to act on behalf of others, but I don’t always actually do anything.  Yes, I get excited about standing up for those who can’t or those who need assistance, but I lose the excitement and do other things once the novelty wears off.

So here’s my challenge: God asked the people of Israel to build into their lifestyle a way to care for the poor and oppressed.  I believe that God is still asking people to live in such a way that we take care of our ‘neighbor’, whether we know who we’re doing it for or not.

I want to live intentionally.  I like to do things on purpose.  Sure, I like routine and whatnot too, but why not set up some routines that help others?

What about you?  Are you doing something, even a small thing, to help stand up for someone or provide for someone in such a way?  Please share.  If you have ideas, whether you’ve started doing them or not, please share.

It can be as small as always buying fair trade coffee to make sure those farmers who grow it are paid and treated fairly.  It can be as big as sponsoring 10 kids through Compassion and getting to see each one once a year and writing to them once a week and having an active role in their lives.

So whatever it is for you, tell us.

-mister-