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The theme for our reflection is Generosity to the poor. Generosity is showing a readiness to give more of something, especially money than is strictly necessary or expected. A poor person is one lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in society. To ensure that the welfare of everyone in the Israelite society was guaranteed, it was mandatory for those who were economically sound to be generous to the poor. God instituted a pro-poor law as a social intervention to alleviate the plight of poor in the society. “Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. (Deuteronomy 15:10-11)

Beloved in the Lord, God’s relationship with humanity is founded on His unconditional love. (Genesis 3:20-24, John 3:16) Through His love, we experience His generosity. In other words, we are spiritual and physical beneficiaries of God’s love and generosity, therefore, it is impossible to have a relationship with God without being generous. It was necessary for God to include the law on generosity to the poor among others because human beings by our fallible nature are selfish and inward-looking. Being generous to the poor as a believer is not a matter of choice but a command, for this reason, God says “I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. (Deuteronomy 15:11) Jesus also commands us His disciples to “give, and it will be given to you.” (Luke 6:38). Being generous to the poor is not only a command but the means by which God will access our love for the poor and vulnerable on the judgement day, “Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:41-46) My dear friend, the least in society are the poor and the vulnerable.

It is important to understand that one of the cardinal features of righteousness is love and generosity. Generosity is a manifestation of our faith and righteousness. Our faith in God and our righteousness are incomplete without generosity to the poor. It is for this reason, Paul wrote to Timothy, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19). Dear friend, let us continue to be generous to the poor as much as we can for “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18). We are again assured in the book of Proverbs that “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed. (Proverbs 19:17). This means that so long as we remember the poor, God will always remember us. Dear friend, there is a poor person praying to God for help today, God has blessed us for the purpose of using us as an answer to the poor person’s prayer through our generosity to them. If you have no reason to be generous to the poor, remember your past and God’s faithfulness and generosity to you and your family when you were poor or had nothing. Beloved in the Lord “… freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8) It is rather unfortunate that we live in a world where some rich people make more money out of the plight of the poor. Some government officials and politicians enrich themselves with funds meant for poverty alleviation interventions. Some Churches and pastors, continue to use the Bible to further impoverish the poor without supporting them in their predicaments. A true believer must have the heart of Christ and always be sensitive to the predicament of the poor in our society. The Church, as part of her mission in the world is to be generous to the poor. It saddens my heart that the church in the twenty-first century has become so materialistic and obsessed with chapel-building projects, businesses, and amassing wealth rather than being generous to the poor even in the church. The annual budgets of most churches are more centred on iron rods, cement, tiles, and beautification of the Chapel in order to compete with our churches in the vicinity, however, little or nothing is allocated to support the poor and vulnerable in the Church and society. This is certainly not the Church Jesus envisioned when He empowered her with the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Love and Generosity was the hallmark of the early Church, we understand that “…the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common… There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need (Acts 4:32, 34-35). Dear friend, there are poor people in your family, society and church, we may not sell our lands or houses to bring the proceeds to the church to prove our love and generosity to the poor but identifying their needs and meeting them in our own small ways while supporting the Chruch to do same is what God requires from us. When we do it faithfully to the glory of God, Jesus assures us that “…your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:4). Shalom.

PRAYER

Generous God, continually bless and empower us to remain generous to the poor. Amen.