Open Your Hand

Deuteronomy 15:7

If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother.

My heart goes out to the many poor that have been produced by this recession. Our greed as a Nation has produced this climate. From the deception of Madoff to the conspicuous consumption of the narcissistic elites, we have created a new class of the affluent poor. I was watching CNN with a feature story entitled “from middle class to tent dwellers.” It was a story about middle class families in California losing their homes to foreclosure and living in tents. Their personal belongings stuffed in garbage bags. It was surreal. They looked like the nomadic poor during Old Testament times.

Jesus spoke about these conditions as he quoted Deuteronomy 15, “the poor you will have with you always.” Meaning there will always be somebody in need. At any given time, we could be in that new class of poor or maybe we already have graduated from the old class of poverty only to be in a position to help those who now struggle with it. God told his people to forgive debts in the seventh year, to tithe off of their increase from what they bring in, and to give freely to the poor people around them. If they did this they would never have to borrow from other nations, but they would lend to many.

In the United States of America, the opposite has happened. We have not been giving to God, we’ve been borrowing from foreign countries, and we have neglected the poor. This condition we are in today happened long before Barack Obama took office 51 days ago. If the economy is going to be recovered, we have to follow God’s economic plan.

1. Tithe your increase. When God blesses you, the first person, place you ought to give your increase is back to God. Find a ministry who is helping the poor so your money can continue to go back to the people who need it the most. Deuteronomy 14:22

2. Release people form their debts every seven years. This was called the year of Jubilee. In a practical sense, you should never loan money to anybody that you need back. Chances are they are not going to pay you back and you lose relationships over bitterness of unpaid debts. During this economic crisis, you cannot get blood out of a turnip so there are some debts you need to just write off and move on.

3. Give to the poor as much as you can. Deut 15:7. I remember growing up poor but I was never hungry or naked. The people in our little rural area took care of one another. We raised our own food, hunted, and fished. We shared resources with one another. Nobody was rich but we all took care of one another. We are in a time that each of us must open our hands and share what we have or else we will perish together.

Dear God, thank you for providing for me when I was poor. It is you who gives us the power to get wealth, but you bless us to be a blessing and not keep it to our selves. Give us a greater empathy for the poor and to realize that no matter how much we are struggling there is always somebody worse off than us. Thank you for what I have.

In Jesus Name,

Amen.