Lending to the Lord
Proverbs 19:17
“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord— and he will repay you!”
Proverbs 19:17 NLT
We recently started doing something new in our lives; giving to the poor or those who appear to be poor in person, and not through a charity. In our car glove compartment are the usual things like the insurance card and registration, but we also have copies of the Gospel of John that we purchased from the Pocket Testament League along with a stack of one and five dollar bills.
I’ve probably mentioned it before, but for many years I refused to give “beggars” or “sign flyers” anything, thinking that they were probably scammers or drug addicts trying to get money. But what if that person who is sitting in the median of the street asking for money really has no other means of support and your few dollars can make a big difference?
Sure, you may be giving a meth or fentanyl addict their next fix by donating a few bucks and that’s not a good thing. On the contrary, you might be helping someone who is at the lowest point in their life and needs just a few bucks to find food or safe shelter for the night. Can you really make that judgement call? Do you really think that God is going to congratulate you for skipping over help for someone you think is a scammer or druggie? No, but He IS going to be pleased with you helping the poor.
Slipping that money into a Pocket Testament League Gospel is a second way you can help someone. Perhaps they’ve never been introduced to Jesus before, and you can turn that person’s life around with a few dollars, kind words, and the written Word of God.
You’ll be lending to the Lord — and he will repay you!