A Reminder

 

“If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the lands that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.” Deuteronomy 15:7

I’m reading through the Old Testament of the bible and came across this passage. The Old Testament is rich with miracles, history, and stories, but it is also quite harsh. When the Israelites who were slaves came out of Egypt and were told by God they would be given a new land flowing with milk and honey, they were also told to kill all the people in the cities which they conquered.

The Old Testament has lots of wars and killing in it, but right here in the middle of all of it, God reminds us to take care of the poor.

Now, usually in this blog, I tell you lots of ways to help others. I’ve even given you data that shows that if you do help others, you will reap benefits of joy and gratefulness yourself, as well as better health.

But there’s another reason why you should help others—because God commanded us to do so. Jesus said, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33)

Are you tightfisted? Are you hardhearted? This blog is called Helping Hearts because the heart is where helping originates.

The motto for my website is “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23)

In the Old Testament when God commanded the people to follow his laws and rules, he made a rule about the poor and taking care of them. There are more ways he had them care for the poor, leaving part of their crops for them and so on.  

If you read my blog, you are most likely a person who likes helping others. That’s wonderful and I commend you, but did you know that another reason for doing it is because God wants us to?

You probably did, but that’s what I felt like I should talk about this month.

I’m slipping this one in under the wire to get it in for February. Thank you for being patient with me, and I’ll be back to giving you ways to help others in March. God bless you.