Give to everyone who asks you
Luke 6:30 - Are you being generous enough with your time, treasure, or talent?
Image generated by ChatGPT (OpenAI) using the DALL·E model.
“Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.”
Luke 6:30 NIV
Today’s verse comes from the words of Jesus, and is part of the Beatitudes (the “Blessed Are” statements) spoken to His recently picked 12 apostles and a multitude of other followers. This is the verse just before the Golden Rule (Luke 6:31) - “Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
Jesus is setting down the rules for the New Covenant. He has just told the assembled crowd that if someone takes away their cloak (an outer garment that under the Law of Moses could not be permanently taken from someone else — see Exodus 22:26), they should offer their tunic as well. This is the inner garment; essentially, Jesus is saying that even if someone mistreats and coerces us to do something, we should take command of the situation by demonstrating sacrificial giving and love.
G. Campbell Morgan, cited in Enduring Word, said:
iii. “The old said, Insist on your own right, and loving your neighbor, hate your enemy, and so secure your safety. The new says, Suffer wrong, and lavish your love on all.” (Morgan)
How can we as Christians practice this level of sacrificial love? It can only happen when we have the faith to believe that God will take care of us. If we give away our treasures to those in need, God — Who provided them in the first place — has many more to give us.
What if someone is deliberately manipulating us into giving everything? David Guzik on Enduring Word notes:
i. The only limit to this kind of sacrifice is the limit that love itself will impose. It isn’t loving to give into someone’s manipulation without our transforming it into a free act of love. It isn’t always loving to give or to not resist.
You’ll note that Jesus is telling His followers not to turn away from those “who ask you”, but instead be willing to give those people willingly and without being bitter about it.
Jesus goes even further with this concept: “if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.” This is a very hard message for people to swallow; those who actually heard Jesus speak these words and those of us who read them 2,000 years later. Jesus wants all of His disciples to display a heart that always seeks the best for others, not for themselves.
King Solomon, quoted in Proverbs 3:27-28, demonstrated this principle of treating others with unflinching generosity:
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”— when you already have it with you.”
The Bible Says has a wonderful explanation of Jesus’ call for generosity in this verse:
Jesus contrasts this heart of generosity with the attitude of legal proportionality. Jesus’ disciples are not to merely seek to follow the law and assert their legal rights, making sure everyone gets their just due. Rather, Jesus’s followers are to look for opportunities to serve, give, and share with their neighbor. In each case, Jesus focuses upon the heart attitude. The overarching goal of our actions should be social harmony (righteousness) rather than self-seeking. His disciples should love and seek true benefit for others and our communities.
Are you being generous enough with your time, treasure, or talent?
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Thank You, God, for sending Jesus to teach us a lesson on how to treat others. Rather than treating me the way I deserved as a sinner, He came to die on the Cross to take my punishment. Please forgive me for the times I have not shown respect for this lesson by responding harshly to those who have harmed me. Help me to live with a generous and giving heart that reflects Your love for Your creation; I cannot do so without Your grace. AMEN.