My Little Corner of the World

You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Deuteronomy 15:10

When I see someone who needs my time, effort, or financial assistance, it’s not natural for me to give. I like my time and money, and I want to keep those things for myself. I worry that if I give, I won’t have enough for me and mine. Plus, once I start giving, where do I stop? There are so many people in need that I can’t save them all. I’ve got a finite amount of energy, time, and resources after all. So, when I see a need, I’m tempted to simply turn away, ignoring it. I can’t save the whole world, so I might as well not even start.

I’m not Jesus though and God hasn’t tasked me with saving the world. He’s simply asked me to impact my little corner of it. In today’s passage, God commanded the Israelites to help those around them whom they observed to be in need. They were instructed to give freely and in doing so, they would find themselves recipients of God’s blessing. If, however, they refused to give, they would be guilty of sin, disqualifying themselves from the blessed life God intended for them. They got to keep God’s blessing only by sharing it with others. If they failed to give, they’d be at risk for losing all that to which they were so desperately clinging.

I know this to be true in my own life. There are Sunday mornings when I don’t feel like going to jail for my Bible study. Still, I go every Sunday, and I have yet to regret obedience, always finding myself on the receiving end of God’s blessing. I’ve also had times though, when I said no to God, disobeying and thereby turning towards me and distancing myself from him in a way that spills over into every area of my life.

We keep what we have by giving it away. God blesses us and asks that we share our time, effort, and money with others. If we refuse, we turn ourselves from God. In doing nothing, we indulge in sin. When, however, we give to others as God has given to us, we find our entire lives enriched with God’s blessing. God doesn’t expect us to save the world. He does ask, however, that we impact our little corner of it.