reward
10/19/10 – Proverbs 19:17
Proverbs Post #1-
I have been reading through the book of Proverbs for most of the last four years. I followed the path many have when reading this book, by reading the chapter that matches the day of the month. I am going to attempt to write daily, on a verse that speaks to me as I read. Today I was reading in chapter 19, since it is the 19th day of the month, and verse 17 struck me today. It says:
Proverbs 19:17 The one who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord,
and the Lord will repay him for his good deed.
Several things stuck out in my mind as I read this verse. The first is, we have a tendency to insulate ourselves from the realities of the world. I wonder, how many people actually are in a position or put themselves in a position to help someone who is poor? Think about your life for a minute. When was the last time you gave someone (who was poor) money to eat lunch or buy groceries, paid someone’s utility bill or donated clothing to your local mission?
The second is the promise of repayment. The Lord “will” is a powerful statement because God always fulfills His promises. I want to caution those who read this and think “If I give to the poor God will give me a bunch of money!” The repayment is not specified in this verse. We do not know if it is an earthly reward or a heavenly reward. But one thing I do know, I want whatever kind of blessing my God is willing to give me!
I want to challenge you to take up reading the Proverb of the day and the entire chapter as well. Lord, please help each one of us to keep our focus on things above and not the things of this earth. Amen.
I am using the Net Bible to quote from for these posts.
