Giving And Lending

-August 11, 2022-

Good morning, happy Thursday,

“Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn a way.”

(Matthew 5:42).

Jesus told a parable of the rich fool who lived for money and material goods as the expense of losing his soul. He made no provision for eternity. Jesus warned a man who came to him asking that He tell his brother share the family inheritance with him. Jesus responded, “Take heed and beware of covetousness (or greed) for one’s life does not consist of the things he possesses.” Money and material things should never define us. If God has blessed us, we should give and lend to others in need. Money is not the root of all evil, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. It is wrong in putting anything ahead of the Lord.

These statements made by the Lord Jesus come under the section of going the second mile. They certainly challenge us in our society today where everyone seems to desire for money and material possessions. People always want more and have a hard time parting with what they do have. The Rich Young Ruler who came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life was such a person. Jesus put his finger right on the pulse of his problem: he was trusting in his riches and was unable give them up to follow Jesus.

Before we can give and lend to others, we must put the Lord first, be content with what we have, and love our neighbor as ourselves. When these things are true, we have a less tenuous grip on on the things and toys of these world. We see everything in the light of eternity, and think more of others than ourselves.

• Give to him who asks you – While we must be wise in our giving and be aware of possible scams, we can’t see into people’s hearts or determine their true motives or level of sincerity. We must give according to need and leave it in the hands of the Lord. It is better to give to a fraudulent person than to miss giving to a sincerely genuine one. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it it will be measured back to you.”

Paul quoted the words attributed to the Lord Jesus in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In life there are times when we give to help others, and there are times when we are in need and must receive the help from others. Asking for and receiving help is not easy and is even harder than giving. We must humble ourselves. There is so much joy in giving. When we have the means, we should give freely, willingly, and generously.

• And from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away – In the OT, the Jews were to lend their money, but they were not to charge interest to their fellow Israelites. They could however lend to non-Jews. If someone asks to borrow from us, we trust the Lord that they will pay us back. We must be careful not to pressure those we lend to, to pay us back. The creditor must be patient and the debtor must be conscientious in repayment. Love must always rule the day.

Psalm 112:5 says, “A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.” It also tells us in Psalm 37:26, “He is ever merciful, and lends; his descendants are blessed.” This giving and lending should be come with love and generosity. We can never out give the Lord. He will always provide for us and care for us. He just wants us to be cheerful givers. If someone comes to us and we have the means we should give, and if they ask to borrow from us, we should lend.

Have a blessed day of putting the love of Christ into action. Stay safe and healthy.

Doing all in the name of Jesus,

Dean