Your Light will Rise in the Darkness
“and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.” ~Isaiah 58:10
This chapter in Isaiah is addressing the motives of our hearts. At that time, some were making a big show of fasting, of giving up food, yet ignoring those starving in the streets. Things haven’t changed much, have they? We now have the added complication of pretenders and panhandlers. Do they deserve our money? What if they use it to buy drugs?
Isaiah is making the point that God looks at our intent - do we sign up to help with a service project because it will make us look good in the eyes of others? Do we make sure that everyone knows that we contributed to a certain cause? If we’re honest, I bet that we can all admit to this at least once in our lives. It’s human nature to seek approval.
But we now have the mind of Christ - the indwelling of the Holy Spirit Who guides us to desire God’s favor. Jesus addressed these same issues in His time on earth in Matthew 6:1-4: "Be careful! When you do something good, don't do it in front of others so that they will see you. If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When you give to those who are poor, don't announce that you are giving. Don't be like the hypocrites. When they are in the synagogues and on the streets, they blow trumpets before they give so that people will see them. They want everyone to praise them. The truth is, that's all the reward they will get. So when you give to the poor, don't let anyone know what you are doing. Your giving should be done in private. Your Father can see what is done in private, and He will reward you.”
We can certainly apply this to the 21rst century. Human nature doesn’t change much.
Father, make our motives pure. We want to help those in need. Give us the heart that pleases you. Amen
Have a blessed day!
Bonnie
Blessed Be Boutique
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