One of the things I
wonder about is how much charity is appropriate. Here is what I mean by that.
Jesus told us to help the poor and I get that. But did He mean give the poor a middle class life style? Just how much help should the poor get? Is our societal compassion doing more harm than good?
As with all things I try to look to the Bible for my answers. And I usually try to find concurring answers in both the Old and New Testament.
In the OT one of the things that I note is that while the owners of the fields are told to leave some residuals on the plants for the poor to glean; the owners aren't required to glean it and deliver it to the poor. The poor are required to go get it themselves.
The OT also talks in places about the benefits of working and living by the sweat of the brow so we know that the Bible thinks that there are benefits and value to doing work.
There is another place, can't remember whether it is OT or NT but it says specifically that young widows should not receive charity and it gives God's reasons why.
My point is that the Bible has several examples of limits to charity.
Jesus told us to help the poor and I get that. But did He mean give the poor a middle class life style? Just how much help should the poor get? Is our societal compassion doing more harm than good?
As with all things I try to look to the Bible for my answers. And I usually try to find concurring answers in both the Old and New Testament.
In the OT one of the things that I note is that while the owners of the fields are told to leave some residuals on the plants for the poor to glean; the owners aren't required to glean it and deliver it to the poor. The poor are required to go get it themselves.
The OT also talks in places about the benefits of working and living by the sweat of the brow so we know that the Bible thinks that there are benefits and value to doing work.
There is another place, can't remember whether it is OT or NT but it says specifically that young widows should not receive charity and it gives God's reasons why.
My point is that the Bible has several examples of limits to charity.
But yet many people
in society today say "But Jesus said care for the poor" as if there
are no limits. If everyone else has a
cell phone then the poor should get cell phones too because otherwise it isn't fair. Things like that.
So I have several examples from the OT but what about the NT? As I was contemplating this today it occurred to me. God's plan of salvation is another great example. Here is what I mean.
When it comes to salvation if we don't have it we are poor. So we are all poor to start with. When we accept Jesus we are saved. We are less poor than we were before. We have our entry into Heaven.
But what happens when we get to Heaven? What are our rewards in Heaven based on? They are based on our service to God are they not?
So I have several examples from the OT but what about the NT? As I was contemplating this today it occurred to me. God's plan of salvation is another great example. Here is what I mean.
When it comes to salvation if we don't have it we are poor. So we are all poor to start with. When we accept Jesus we are saved. We are less poor than we were before. We have our entry into Heaven.
But what happens when we get to Heaven? What are our rewards in Heaven based on? They are based on our service to God are they not?
Matthew 16:27(NKJV)
27For the Son of Man will come in the glory
of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his
works.
While we all can get to Heaven, once we get there we do not all get equal rewards. Now think about that for a minute.
When God set up His plan of salvation he could have set it up so that not only are we all saved but that we all get equal rewards in Heaven in the name of fairness but He didn't do that did He?
Nope. He gave us all salvation, the bare minimum to get us to Heaven. A sustenance existence if you will. But if we want the better things in life and more importantly the better things in Heaven what do we have to do? We have to work for them don’t' we? God doesn't just give them to us. He tells us to earn them!
Hmm. Maybe there is a lesson on our societal view of charity in there somewhere.
While we all can get to Heaven, once we get there we do not all get equal rewards. Now think about that for a minute.
When God set up His plan of salvation he could have set it up so that not only are we all saved but that we all get equal rewards in Heaven in the name of fairness but He didn't do that did He?
Nope. He gave us all salvation, the bare minimum to get us to Heaven. A sustenance existence if you will. But if we want the better things in life and more importantly the better things in Heaven what do we have to do? We have to work for them don’t' we? God doesn't just give them to us. He tells us to earn them!
Hmm. Maybe there is a lesson on our societal view of charity in there somewhere.
No comments:
Post a Comment