Love for the Least
Good Son-Day!!! Rockin' Robins are Singing Outside Our Bedroom Window!
A Spring Burst of Color
Love for the Least
Last week, the topic covered giving and volunteering. They are attributes cherished by God. Before I move forward, I just want to mention as men of God we sometimes miss the mark. What has gone viral on the Net in recent days is Marvin Sapp's directive to church ushers to close sanctuary exits to parishioners during the offering to collect $40K. The optics of this entire video of the event were not good.
He has rightfully received plenty of backlash. Actions like this reflect terribly on pastors who are doing right by God. More importantly, it can cause a person to fall. Something no pastor in their right faith would want to see happen. Last week, I referenced the scripture.
Matthew 10:8:"Freely you have received; freely give."
The passage fully speaks for itself. "Nuff said!"
Now, the focus gently shifts to those who are
- less fortunate,
- wallowing in bad decisions,
- never got a break,
- victims of their environment,
- do not have what society considers physical stature or dimensions, or
- society's cast offs
For human beings in the above predicaments judgement by those who are experiencing a better quality of life or standard of living can be quick, unforgiving, harsh, and mean. Even to the degree where there is no empathy, and an unwillingness share time or money. You may hear statements like,
- "No one helped me",
- "He had it coming",
- "She is incorrigible",
- "He smells",
- "He's dirty",
- "He's beyond hope",
- "My little bit will not make a difference --- why bother",
- "They need a miracle worker",
- "He's a lost case",
- "Ewwww"
Or, like the Old Testament prophet, Jonah, I do not like these people; so, I will not help.
The reasons not to help or contribute abound. The attitude to judge someone as less than you always lurks like a shadow.
Christ ran into thinking like this His time on earth. The Good Samaritan story is about how Jews thought of themselves a better than the pseudo-Jews aka Samaritans (they had no genetic links to the 12 Tribes of Isreal). Also, remember it was a Samaritan, King Herod, who tried to kill Christ as an infant. The Jews, Judeans, or those from the Tribe of Judah were the last lineage from the 12 tribes of Isreal.
Always know, a person who is hated can sense it even when there is no action taken by the hater. Sadly, in this day and age, we have regressed to expressing our hate for others brazenly and sometimes violently. Too often hate is honored, rewarded, and glorified.
The well-known Good Samaritan story is remarkable in that many Samaritans were devote followers of the Hebrew faith but were scorned by the Jews. Nonetheless, Christ provides a wonderful illustration of a hated Samaritan bringing comfort and relief to a naked, beaten, and half dead Jew who hates him. What makes matters worse, the Jew's own people and priest passed him by on the road in this condition.
Luke 5:30-530 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. Robbers attacked him. They stripped off his clothes and beat him. Then they went away, leaving him almost dead.
31 A priest happened to be going down that same road. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 A Levite also came by. When he saw the man, he passed by on the other side too.
33 But a Samaritan came to the place where the man was. When he saw the man, he felt sorry for him. 34 He went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey. He brought him to an inn and took care of him.
35 The next day he took out two silver coins. He gave them to the owner of the inn. ‘Take care of him,’ he said. ‘When I return, I will pay you back for any extra expense you may have.’
From the human perspective, the Samaritan would be justified in letting the Jew die on the road. Even his own kinsmen would not help. They were too busy judging one of their own as being unworthy of their help. But look at God in the form of a Samaritan. Now, love abounds. Go the mile with Jew. And then go another ten miles to assure the well-being of this human being with additional generosity.
A line from Montell Jordan's 1995 song, "This is How We Do It".
Matthew 25:40‘What I’m about to tell you is true. Anything you did for one of the least important of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
Verily, Truly, the Truth! Now go love somebody!
Song of the Week - Hallelujah! Sing a New Song to GOD. Sing HIS praise in the assembly of godly people. Psalm 149:1.
Work It Out for Me, 2022, Zacardi Cortez
A quick song with a wonderful display of vocal gymnastics, simple lyrics, and a pinch of accompaniment.
Lyrics
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