Handouts

"When David's men came to Nabal and asked him for food as compensation for their protection of his flocks, he answered, 'Why should I give my hard-earned money to who-knows-who? Lots of people are pretending to be something they are not just to get handouts - Now go away!'" (my own paraphrase from 1 Sam 25:10-11).

David and his men had been protecting Nabal's shepherds and their flocks. When David sent men to collect some compensation for this protection, Nabal insulted them and sent them away. Now, I am assuming that in David's culture, this type of service must have been common place, because all the parties involved (except for Nabal) saw the dismissal as evil. However, his reasoning seems legitimate to me, and I think it carries over into our culture. How many times have I heard others (or more importantly, how many times have I said myself) that I don't like to give handouts to the poor and the homeless who beg because I don't know if their need is real, or how they plan to spend the money. In essence, the same reasoning offered by Nabal.

Why did God see Nabal's response as evil? Was he lying when he claimed not to know David, or his men? Did his shepherds not report the kindness to their master? Was he displaying his greed with his lack of generosity? Whatever it was, he died as a result of his sin.

What does the story of Nabal mean for me, in our generation, and in our society. Certainly we have all kinds of people asking for donations; everything from homeless individualizes to international organizations. I don't think there is any doubt that some of these are not truly in need, and even among those who are in need, some intend to use the money for unholy purposes. While I do not believe that God would have us hand over our "hard-earned" income to anyone who comes asking, I do think there is a lesson for us in the story of Nabal.

Did Jesus not confirm the Old Testament scriptures when he told the parable of the servants who were sorted. We, as followers of Jehovah, are commanded to give to help the needy. Maybe it is time for me to begin giving, that God may judge the person who benefits from the gift, and not judge me.

The attitude of servants

Tomorrow is Election Day, and next week is Veterans Day. It’s always a time of year when we think carefully about our public servants, and celebrate their sacrifices. This week I was reminded of a quote by Dr. David Livingstone (a Scottish medical missionary to Africa in the 19th century). I pray that The Spirit and The Word will adjust my thinking to match more closely this sentiment:

“Forbid that we should ever consider the holding of a commission from the King of kings a sacrifice, so long as other men esteem the service of an earthly government as an honor.”

Philipians 2:5-8

It's been a while

Well, as previously advertised, it has been a while since I’ve posted. I want to assure you that by God’s grace I am continuing to read, mediate, pray and grow. I think I have several things I would like to share in future posts when I find more time. In the meanwhile, I do have one truth that I feel you all should know:  The thin paper that they use to make the pages in most bibles is very absorbent – especially with coffee!!! I will post more in a month or two. Between now and then I will be reading my (recently brown) Bible. I hope you are too!

Busyness

I knew it was coming, BUSYNESS! The school year doesn't start for 2 more weeks, but I am already very busy and beginning to feel overwhelmed. Fortunately, the Lord has been preparing me for this time. All summer long (and especially at Bay Shore Camp) he has been revealing to me truths and promises that should help me through this school year.


One victory already: I am still doing my morning quiet times even in the midst of the busyness. That is something I probably wouldn’t have been doing in the past. Praise God that he is building in me a deep desire for his word and a longing for a more significant relationship.

On a related note, with all the busyness in my life, I don’t know how often I’ll be posting. I already have 3 posts in mind based on recent personal revelations, and one draft started, but time is precious and this blog is not. ;)

reluctant reconciliation

So far in this blog, I mostly have posted on my personal theology; the things that the Lord has shown me that help me understand him a little better. Occasionally, I post a vague reference to some experience or personal trial, but so far I haven’t really revealed myself very much on this blog. I guess that’s about to change.


This morning I was reading about reconciling relationships with the people around us. I often gloss over these readings, because I honestly don’t feel like I carry too many grudges. However, Christ’s words in Matthew hit me today. He says that if you are worshiping, and recall that someone else has a grudge against you, you should cease your worship and go to the person to be reconciled (Matt 5:23-24).

This reminded me of a conversation that I had with a colleague as the school year was ending. We were discussing the potential promotion of an administrator, and I made a comment that this particular administrator did not like me. I don’t know the extent of the dislike, but I feel that the statement is accurate. I also realize that my own past actions and comments have probably helped fuel the situation. Because of this, I feel a need to go to the person, confess and apologize for my past actions.

Now, I realize that in the above verses Christ uses the word “brothers”, which in modern times, we generally think of as referring to the relationship between two Christians. To my knowledge, this particular person is not a Christian, but I still feel I need to apologize and attempt to reconcile the relationship. Needless to say, I am very nervous (even frightened) about how the person will respond, but all the same, here I go.