Hey Gang,
This is our final lesson in this series on the woes of our culture. This week we look at how we can get more personally involved in helping people in need around us.
Deuteronomy 15:7-11; 24:10-22
Two-year-olds are characterized by their greed.
Funny, isn't it, how Christians sound like them in a variety of ways?
How would you define greed?
Think about this...
In what ways have we let the greed of society affect our own attitude toward giving?
Click Here
The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils (1 Tim. 6:10). What are some of these evils? - Money can become an idol that takes the place of God.
- It can lead to indifference to the needs of others.
- It can lure people on in the false notion that if a person just had enough money, he or she could buy everything worth having.
- However, in the end, the greedy person leaves all his money behind.
Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Why is this true?
- Because it is a faithful use of what God has given you.
- Your resources can be used to meet human needs and express your gratitude to God.
- Doing this brings a sense of joy not found in any other way.
We have an obligation to meet the needs of people our culture would prefer to ignore.
In Deuteronomy, the Lord explains to Israel how their covenant relationship with Him should impact every aspect of their daily lives. This includes their view of poverty and possessions. Israel was to stand out from her pagan neighbors by her compassionate generosity, a reflection of the loving God to whom Israel belonged. Through Moses, the Lord here shows three ways this generosity should play out.
I. SHARE GENEROUSLY – DEUTERONOMY 15:7-11
7 “If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers within any of your gates in the land the LORD your God is giving you, you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. 8 Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. 9 Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart, ‘The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,’ and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty. 10 Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do. 11 For there will never cease to be poor people in the land; that is why I am commanding you, ‘You must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother in your land.’
Life is for giving, not getting.
Those who have should give to those who have not.
Giving should not be forced, but done freely.
Giving should be open-handed, not tight-fisted.
Those who have should give to those who have not.
Giving should not be forced, but done freely.
Giving should be open-handed, not tight-fisted.
What are greater forces than greed that encourage generosity?
Are we supposed to give or lend? What is the difference between giving and giving generously?
If there will always be poor and we’re obligated to give, how do we keep from becoming poor ourselves?
- Willingness should be the attitude toward giving rather than looking for an excuse not to give. Prayerfully determine when God wants you to give sacrificially. Sometimes you may hear of a need and feel no divine nudging to give. But when the impression you are to give is strong, don’t harden your heart against that leading.
Give with an open heart (15:7-11). Moses proposes a situation in which a brother of Israel becomes poor: perhaps through sickness, unfavorable farming weather or even irresponsibility. Whatever the case, the Lord warns about the heart attitude toward that brother. It is easy to hold this needy brother in contempt, giving him nothing; to resentfully calculate whether or not you will be repaid; to dutifully give, yet with a grudging spirit. None of these heart attitudes are acceptable to God: His people are not only to open their hands, but their hearts.
Those hard-hearted attitudes display a disregard for the Lord’s generosity to you, for the wealthiest Israelite is a beggar before a charitable God. Israel must never forget they live in “the land the Lord your God is giving you.” Furthermore, the needy one among them is not an abstract idea called “the poor,” but “your poor brother.” Meditation on these truths will keep God’s people from the greed of the surrounding nations; it will keep their hearts and hands open.
II. TREAT WITH DIGNITY – DEUTERONOMY 24:10-15
10 “When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security. 11 You must stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, you must not sleep in the garment he has given as security. 13 Be sure to return it to him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before the LORD your God. 14 “Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the foreigners residing within a town in your land. 15 You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them. Otherwise he will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be held guilty.
Helping the needy is a biblical theme.
Rendering such help should be done in a way that enables needy people to preserve their dignity.
A day’s labor deserves a day’s pay.
Rendering such help should be done in a way that enables needy people to preserve their dignity.
A day’s labor deserves a day’s pay.
Lend with a compassionate heart (24:10-13). In receiving a loan, it is customary for a borrower to provide the lender with a pledge to ensure he would repay the loan. Moses instructs the Israelite lender about how to collect this pledge: he is not to proudly charge in to his neighbor’s house like he owns the place, but should wait respectfully outside. This is to treat your needy neighbor with dignity in his time of need.
The neighbor could be so poor that the only pledge he can offer is his cloak. A tough-minded businessman says, “Doing without this should motivate him to repay his loan faster.” But Moses again warns against the dehumanizing that so often takes place when money is involved. He says instead to return the man’s cloak at sundown – why let him shiver all night while his cloak lies in a heap on your floor? This may not sound like smart business, but the borrower will bless you for it. Even more, “it shall be righteousness before the Lord,” and this should be our chief concern.
Pay with an honorable heart (vv. 14-15). Finally, Moses speaks to those who employ hired servants, whether fellow Israelites or sojourners. These employers are to pay their servants’ wages promptly at the end of each day. Because they are poor, they “live from paycheck to paycheck,” and cannot survive if you drag your feet in paying what they are owed. Because they are needy, they are powerless to “fight for their rights,” and rely on you to treat them fairly. Employers should consider their workers, and pay with an honorable heart.
What are two contrasting ways of treating needy people in this passage? What are two contrasting responses?
- Our goal in giving is not just to meet people’s needs but to preserve their dignity as God’s valuable creations.
- Greed has sucked in many who use their power to deny others their dignity and due rights. People with little status in the world have status with God so if they are not treated fairly and with dignity He hears their cries and holds their oppressors accountable.
- We need to be thinking about God when we do business with others because God is thinking of and watching us!
- If people are going to be talking to God about us, let it be because they are thanking God, not complaining about how we treated them.
- Taking over is not treating with dignity. Recognize the person you are helping has intelligence, pride, and worthy ideas.
III. PROTECT WITH MERCY – DEUTERONOMY 24:17-18
17 Do not deny justice to a foreigner or fatherless child, and do not take a widow’s garment as security. 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.
Some groups are more vulnerable to exploitation than others.
A society, and individuals within it, is judged by how it treats those who are most vulnerable.
Just as there are many ways to victimize the poor and needy, so are there many ways persons of Christian character can assist them.
Remembering what the Lord has done for you will motivate you to reach out to help others in need.
Don’t wait until you’re rich before you begin helping others who are less fortunate. If you do, you’ll never do more than you are doing now.
A society, and individuals within it, is judged by how it treats those who are most vulnerable.
Just as there are many ways to victimize the poor and needy, so are there many ways persons of Christian character can assist them.
Remembering what the Lord has done for you will motivate you to reach out to help others in need.
Don’t wait until you’re rich before you begin helping others who are less fortunate. If you do, you’ll never do more than you are doing now.
Why did God specifically mention these three groups? What did God want the Israelites to remember and why? What can you remember that would compel you to be more merciful and generous?
- When the Israelites were in slavery, God didn’t just speak sympathetic words to them. He compassionately acted to deliver them.
- We too would be trapped without the kind intervention of Christ. If we consistently ignore the needs of the poor, we have forgotten the work Christ did on the cross to redeem us.
- Our past troubles should make us sensitive to those who are struggling. Don’t let your struggles go to waste! Remember how God has taken care of you through the kindness and mercy of others and do the same for others.
Conclusion
What are forces that are greater than greed’s powerful pull?
- God commands generosity – we’re guilty of sin if we refuse to help others. We counter greed with gratitude and giving. God blesses those who share. Remember how God and others have shared generously with us, treated us with dignity, and protected us when we were vulnerable.
- We can’t give generously to every need. But we can ask God to help us be aware of and take advantage of those needs that have our names written on them.
This lesson is based on several assumptions:
1. That we live in a greedy culture. The truth of this principle is obvious. The goals of many people are possessions and pleasures; and they believe that enough money can purchase both of these.
2. The nature of money. It is the medium of exchange for purchasing the necessities of life and the many other things we want. People in a greedy culture want many things.
3. A person can use his or her money selfishly or unselfishly. He or she can be tight-fisted or open-handed.
4. Some people cannot supply their own needs, usually by circumstances over which they have little or no control.
5. People of biblical faith and love should not be controlled by the culture but by God. When possible, we should be givers, not takers.
1. That we live in a greedy culture. The truth of this principle is obvious. The goals of many people are possessions and pleasures; and they believe that enough money can purchase both of these.
2. The nature of money. It is the medium of exchange for purchasing the necessities of life and the many other things we want. People in a greedy culture want many things.
3. A person can use his or her money selfishly or unselfishly. He or she can be tight-fisted or open-handed.
4. Some people cannot supply their own needs, usually by circumstances over which they have little or no control.
5. People of biblical faith and love should not be controlled by the culture but by God. When possible, we should be givers, not takers.
Prayer of Commitment
Lord, help me to be a generous giver to people and causes that You want me to help support. Amen.
This has been a good series to study and we can all relate to the woes of our culture and how easily we can simply become one of the culture.
Be praying this week as we close out this lesson on God's unchanging truths in a changing world.
See you on Sunday!
In His Love,
David & Susan
