ELUL 16
On Giving
“…but rather let him labor,
working what is good with the hands, THAT HE MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE TO THE
ONE WHO HAS NEED.” (Eph
4:28 HRB)
I can
remember, some years ago, speaking with a young lady of whom I am very
fond. When I asked her, “how are you
folks doing?” her reply was “living the dream!”
It is unfortunate that the ‘dream’ they are living is astronomical house
payments to pay for the house that they had built, a new car payment, a new
truck payment, as well as a payment for the boat and snow machines they enjoy
in their leisure time. Both husband and
wife work – they have to – and most of their income goes toward reducing
the debt they have. Would they be able
to help someone who might have an
emergency need? Perhaps, though it would
probably be difficult.
James,
the brother of our Messiah, gave us some strong words to ponder: “You ask and
do not receive, because you ask evilly, in order to spend it on your
pleasures.” (James 4:3) Is it wrong to have ‘things’ that give us
pleasure? No, I do not believe that it
is; however, when our entire purpose in gainful employment is to spend it on our
own ‘pleasure’, there is a very strong
current of selfishness flowing.
The
Scriptures are filled with verses pertaining to ‘giving’. To start with, those of us who call ourselves
children of Elohim have been given a priceless gift that we do not deserve: life, eternal life, when we
choose to adhere to Messiah Yeshua, and live in obedience to His instructions in righteous and moral
living. Do we then, in our selfishness,
withhold from those who are in dire straits, and need help?
Let me
expand on this a little: I am not in
agreement with giving ‘handouts’ to anyone and
everyone who professes to have a need.
This is not an accurate discernment of any given situation. We are first to assist those who are
like-minded, those who believe in the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and
regulate their lives according to Torah.
We have specific instructions given to us in the Torah, especially
toward the widows, orphans and the poor (Lev 23:22; Lev 25:35; Deu 15:14; Ex
22:22; Deu 10:18), with some of these instructions being extended to include the
stranger who lives with us. In spite of
this, I believe that we must first determine
if the cause is a genuine ‘need’, or simply a ‘want’, before we pull out the
checkbook.
Giving
should be an important part of our nature, for ‘freely we have received,
therefore freely we give’ (Mat 10:8). And yet, how much giving we do actively
participate in? Have we become a
generation of ‘hoarders’, keeping everything for ourselves, in the pursuit of
what gives us pleasure? Or are we givers, serving as a conduit for
the generous hand of our Elohim?
“Whoever stops his ears at the
cry of the poor will cry out himself and not be heard.” (Pro 21:13 AMPC)
“Clean and undefiled religion
before the Elohim and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their
affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (Jam 1:27)
“Give, and it shall be given to
you. A good measure, pressed down and shaken together and running over shall be
put into your lap. For with the same measure with which you measure, it shall
be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38)
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