11-27-2007, 04:36 PM
Good afternoon everyone on this rainy but warm day!:D:rain:
The text Scripture for today is from Prov. 14:31 ...
The one showing favor to the poor one is glorifying (his Maker)
Watchtower comments ...
''One aspect of the Mosaic Law that reflected God's concern for his people's welfare was the right to glean. The law on gleaning did not stipulate how much produce farmers were to leave for the needy. It was up to them whether the borders of unreaped grain around the edges of their fields would be wide or narrow. In this, the arrangements taught generosity. It gave farmers the opportunity to show their appreciation to the Provider of the harvest. Boaz was one who did so. He kindly made sure that Ruth, a widow who gleaned in his fields, would collect a good quality of grain. Jehovah amply rewarded Boaz for his generosity. (Ruth 2:15,16; 4:21, 22; Prov. 19:17) The principle behind the law on gleaning has not changed. Jehovah expects his servants to be generous, especially toward the needy. The more generous we are, the greater our blessings will be.''--Luke 6:38. w6/15/06 11-13
My thoughts ... :giverose:
Well, I have a few rolling around in my brain today ... ;):funnyface:
How many of you remember the 'good old days' when we used to have a 'poor box' in our congregations to help those LOCALLY who fell on hard times or needed help? How many of these 'poor boxes' do we have today? At least in our neck of the woods newer ones have never even heard of such a provision ... :dontknow:
What does this indicate ...
Well, to 'me' it shows that the OPPOSITE attitude is true of this particular Scripture at Matt. 9:12 where it part is says ...
13 Go, then, and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice.’
Yes, it seems in REALITY that the 'poor ones' are NOT taken care of as they should be ... in my experience and in my humble opinion ... :(
The full Scriptural text says this Prov. 14:31 ...
(BBE) He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.
(CEV) If you mistreat the poor, you insult your Creator; if you are kind to them, you show him respect.
(GNB) If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.
(MKJV) He who presses the poor curses his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy upon the poor.
(YLT) An oppressor of the poor reproacheth his Maker, And whoso is honouring Him Is favouring the needy.
Interestingly in GNB Bible expressed the idea that in helping the poor it is an ACT OF WORSHIP ... is that a correct view ...?
James 1:27 would seem to be in harmony with this view ...
(NWT) 27 The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.
(BBE) The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world.
(Murdock) For the worship that is pure and holy before God the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and that one keep himself unspotted from the world.
(WNT) The religious service which is pure and stainless in the sight of our God and Father is to visit fatherless children and widowed women in their time of trouble, and to keep one's own self unspotted from the world.
I think perhaps defining what exactly does 'taking care of' or 'looking after' these 'poor' ones mean ... and what does it mean to be 'poor ones' might be good to reflect ...?
From early times Jehovah made sure that poor ones were given attention and honor ...
Duet. 24:14,15 ...
(BBE) Give him his payment day by day, not keeping it back over night; for he is poor and his living is dependent on it; and if his cry against you comes to the ears of the Lord, it will be judged as sin in you.
(CEV) Pay them their wages at the end of each day, because they live in poverty and need the money to survive. If you don't pay them on time, they will complain about you to the LORD, and he will punish you.
How loving of our God to tell his people to so honor such afflicted ones ...
How did his Son feel about 'poor ones' ...?
Matt. 19:21 ...
(BBE) Jesus said to him, If you have a desire to be complete, go, get money for your property, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come after me.
(EMTV) Jesus said to him, "If you desire to be perfect, go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
WOW ...
This account of the rich man being asked to give of his 'riches' to 'give to the poor' to me shows just how much VALUE Jesus and his Father places on ALL ... be they rich or poor ... but ESPECIALLY it seems was he interested in the 'poor' ...
Why was this perhaps ...? :thinking:
Luke 14:12-14 ...
(BBE) 12 And he said to the master of the house, When you give a feast, do not send for your friends and your brothers and your family or your neighbours who have wealth, for they may give a feast for you, and so you will get a reward.
13 But when you give a feast, send for the poor and the blind and those who are broken in body:
14 And you will have a blessing, because they will not be able to give you any payment, and you will get your reward when the upright come back from the dead.
Now to ME ... :blush: these verses show an opposite attitude to that which is expressed in the comments above ... in particular ...
The more generous we are, the [b]greater our blessings will be.[/b]
Said in the way it is it sounds self-serving and kind of greedy and cold-blooded ... as if the only reason we would want to generous is because of what we will get ... (critical comment for day ... :redface:)
Yes, we shouldn't 'expect' anything back from those we show kindness to should we ...
To me with the focus being on the 'poor ones' who are UNABLE to 'reward' us in a material way shows the REASON WHY we would show such love and honor to them ... that it would be motivate by a heart of love :heartbeat: and WILLING desire to want to do good for our brothers and sisters because it is a PART OF OUR WORSHIP to our heavenly Father!
Luke 7:22 ...
(BBE) And answering them he said, Go back and give news to John of what you have seen, and the things which have come to your ears; the blind now see, those who had no power in their legs are walking, lepers are made clean, those who had no hearing now have their ears open, dead men come to life again, and the poor have the good news given to them.
When I was reading this verse today I couldn't help but think of the figurative as well as literal meaning to these words and what they meant to those who were blessed to have this blessing from our Lord ...
In a 'literal' sense all these words apply ... but also in a spiritual sense as well ...
Literal eyes could now see the beauty of creation around them, and the loving and caring man who made it possible with love shining out of his eyes for them ... this is so in a spiritual way as well isn't it ... people being able to 'see' the spiritual truths found in God's Word and feel it in their hearts ...
To be able to 'hear' the voiced of loved ones ... and do we not in a spiritual sense 'hear' the words or voice of our shepherd ...
To be able to have life to body ... is not our spiritual 'healed' and 'restored' so that we can 'walk' along the path to life ...
And were 'unclean' and sickly bodies made 'clean' and sound ... and were not at one time 'unclean' in the eyes of our God but made 'clean' in a spiritual way when we accepted Christ as our Savior ...
And did Jesus not feed the poor ones make sure the naked were clothed (remember the guy in the tombs) and did he not bring refreshment and caring to those who were in distress ... and does he not continue to do the same through his followers since he is not here to do it personally ...
For being 'poor' was just not in a financial sense ... but in health ... in circumstance ... in a distressed emotional sense ...
As a kind of side thought I was thinking about these 'lepers' ...
The 'litera' lepers were considered UNCLEAN to people ... were kept at a distance ... kept apart from everyone else ...
The same was true of the tax collectors and harlots ... they were 'undesireables' ... 'unclean' ... 'poor' ...
And yet what did Jesus show us we need to do with such ones ... how were we to treat those ones who may be looked down upon by the world ... who may be homeless, sick, blind, beggarly and so on ...?
Matt. 9:11-13 ...
11 And the Pharisees seeing it , said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax-gatherers and sinners?
12 But Jesus hearing it, said, They that are strong have not need of a physician, but those that are ill.
13 But go and learn what that is--I will have mercy and not sacrifice; for I have not come to call righteous men but sinners.
Who else are considered 'poor' in the Scriptures and who can help ...?
Prov. 31:20 ...
(DRB) She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor.
(ESV) She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
Yes, the capable woman sees to the NEEDS of others ... be they spiritual, material, physical or emotional ... for the 'poor one' covers all of these areas do they not ...
So, if ALL of us ...(not just elders) want to honor God and the poor ... let us TAKE THE INITIATIVE and DO what we can for them ... let us NOT be like the Scripture mentioned at James 2:15,16 ...
15 If a brother or a sister is without clothing and in need of the day's food,
16 And one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warm and full of food; but you do not give them the things of which their bodies have need, what profit is there in this?
These 'poor ones' cannot be 'fed' or 'clothed' on WORDS ... they need the REAL THING ... or if they need a hearing hear then TAKE THE TIME ...
And may we do it in the spirit of 2Cor. 9:7-9 ...
7 Let each one give just as he decides in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that in everything always having all sufficiency, you may abound for every good work,
9 just as it is written: "He has dispersed, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."
So, let us magnify and honor the love that our God and his Son have by imitating their love toward others ... :heartbeat::grouphug:
Well, I really did rattle and ramble on today ... sorry about that ... :love:
Luv to yall now and always ... BR :sheepy: :bouncyhearts:
The text Scripture for today is from Prov. 14:31 ...
The one showing favor to the poor one is glorifying (his Maker)
Watchtower comments ...
''One aspect of the Mosaic Law that reflected God's concern for his people's welfare was the right to glean. The law on gleaning did not stipulate how much produce farmers were to leave for the needy. It was up to them whether the borders of unreaped grain around the edges of their fields would be wide or narrow. In this, the arrangements taught generosity. It gave farmers the opportunity to show their appreciation to the Provider of the harvest. Boaz was one who did so. He kindly made sure that Ruth, a widow who gleaned in his fields, would collect a good quality of grain. Jehovah amply rewarded Boaz for his generosity. (Ruth 2:15,16; 4:21, 22; Prov. 19:17) The principle behind the law on gleaning has not changed. Jehovah expects his servants to be generous, especially toward the needy. The more generous we are, the greater our blessings will be.''--Luke 6:38. w6/15/06 11-13
My thoughts ... :giverose:
Well, I have a few rolling around in my brain today ... ;):funnyface:
How many of you remember the 'good old days' when we used to have a 'poor box' in our congregations to help those LOCALLY who fell on hard times or needed help? How many of these 'poor boxes' do we have today? At least in our neck of the woods newer ones have never even heard of such a provision ... :dontknow:
What does this indicate ...
Well, to 'me' it shows that the OPPOSITE attitude is true of this particular Scripture at Matt. 9:12 where it part is says ...
13 Go, then, and learn what this means, ‘I want mercy, and not sacrifice.’
Yes, it seems in REALITY that the 'poor ones' are NOT taken care of as they should be ... in my experience and in my humble opinion ... :(
The full Scriptural text says this Prov. 14:31 ...
(BBE) He who is hard on the poor puts shame on his Maker; but he who has mercy on those who are in need gives him honour.
(CEV) If you mistreat the poor, you insult your Creator; if you are kind to them, you show him respect.
(GNB) If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.
(MKJV) He who presses the poor curses his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy upon the poor.
(YLT) An oppressor of the poor reproacheth his Maker, And whoso is honouring Him Is favouring the needy.
Interestingly in GNB Bible expressed the idea that in helping the poor it is an ACT OF WORSHIP ... is that a correct view ...?
James 1:27 would seem to be in harmony with this view ...
(NWT) 27 The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.
(BBE) The religion which is holy and free from evil in the eyes of our God and Father is this: to take care of children who have no fathers and of widows who are in trouble, and to keep oneself untouched by the world.
(Murdock) For the worship that is pure and holy before God the Father, is this: to visit the fatherless and the widows in their affliction, and that one keep himself unspotted from the world.
(WNT) The religious service which is pure and stainless in the sight of our God and Father is to visit fatherless children and widowed women in their time of trouble, and to keep one's own self unspotted from the world.
I think perhaps defining what exactly does 'taking care of' or 'looking after' these 'poor' ones mean ... and what does it mean to be 'poor ones' might be good to reflect ...?
From early times Jehovah made sure that poor ones were given attention and honor ...
Duet. 24:14,15 ...
(BBE) Give him his payment day by day, not keeping it back over night; for he is poor and his living is dependent on it; and if his cry against you comes to the ears of the Lord, it will be judged as sin in you.
(CEV) Pay them their wages at the end of each day, because they live in poverty and need the money to survive. If you don't pay them on time, they will complain about you to the LORD, and he will punish you.
How loving of our God to tell his people to so honor such afflicted ones ...
How did his Son feel about 'poor ones' ...?
Matt. 19:21 ...
(BBE) Jesus said to him, If you have a desire to be complete, go, get money for your property, and give it to the poor, and you will have wealth in heaven: and come after me.
(EMTV) Jesus said to him, "If you desire to be perfect, go, sell your belongings and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
WOW ...
This account of the rich man being asked to give of his 'riches' to 'give to the poor' to me shows just how much VALUE Jesus and his Father places on ALL ... be they rich or poor ... but ESPECIALLY it seems was he interested in the 'poor' ...
Why was this perhaps ...? :thinking:
Luke 14:12-14 ...
(BBE) 12 And he said to the master of the house, When you give a feast, do not send for your friends and your brothers and your family or your neighbours who have wealth, for they may give a feast for you, and so you will get a reward.
13 But when you give a feast, send for the poor and the blind and those who are broken in body:
14 And you will have a blessing, because they will not be able to give you any payment, and you will get your reward when the upright come back from the dead.
Now to ME ... :blush: these verses show an opposite attitude to that which is expressed in the comments above ... in particular ...
The more generous we are, the [b]greater our blessings will be.[/b]
Said in the way it is it sounds self-serving and kind of greedy and cold-blooded ... as if the only reason we would want to generous is because of what we will get ... (critical comment for day ... :redface:)
Yes, we shouldn't 'expect' anything back from those we show kindness to should we ...
To me with the focus being on the 'poor ones' who are UNABLE to 'reward' us in a material way shows the REASON WHY we would show such love and honor to them ... that it would be motivate by a heart of love :heartbeat: and WILLING desire to want to do good for our brothers and sisters because it is a PART OF OUR WORSHIP to our heavenly Father!
Luke 7:22 ...
(BBE) And answering them he said, Go back and give news to John of what you have seen, and the things which have come to your ears; the blind now see, those who had no power in their legs are walking, lepers are made clean, those who had no hearing now have their ears open, dead men come to life again, and the poor have the good news given to them.
When I was reading this verse today I couldn't help but think of the figurative as well as literal meaning to these words and what they meant to those who were blessed to have this blessing from our Lord ...
In a 'literal' sense all these words apply ... but also in a spiritual sense as well ...
Literal eyes could now see the beauty of creation around them, and the loving and caring man who made it possible with love shining out of his eyes for them ... this is so in a spiritual way as well isn't it ... people being able to 'see' the spiritual truths found in God's Word and feel it in their hearts ...
To be able to 'hear' the voiced of loved ones ... and do we not in a spiritual sense 'hear' the words or voice of our shepherd ...
To be able to have life to body ... is not our spiritual 'healed' and 'restored' so that we can 'walk' along the path to life ...
And were 'unclean' and sickly bodies made 'clean' and sound ... and were not at one time 'unclean' in the eyes of our God but made 'clean' in a spiritual way when we accepted Christ as our Savior ...
And did Jesus not feed the poor ones make sure the naked were clothed (remember the guy in the tombs) and did he not bring refreshment and caring to those who were in distress ... and does he not continue to do the same through his followers since he is not here to do it personally ...
For being 'poor' was just not in a financial sense ... but in health ... in circumstance ... in a distressed emotional sense ...
As a kind of side thought I was thinking about these 'lepers' ...
The 'litera' lepers were considered UNCLEAN to people ... were kept at a distance ... kept apart from everyone else ...
The same was true of the tax collectors and harlots ... they were 'undesireables' ... 'unclean' ... 'poor' ...
And yet what did Jesus show us we need to do with such ones ... how were we to treat those ones who may be looked down upon by the world ... who may be homeless, sick, blind, beggarly and so on ...?
Matt. 9:11-13 ...
11 And the Pharisees seeing it , said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with tax-gatherers and sinners?
12 But Jesus hearing it, said, They that are strong have not need of a physician, but those that are ill.
13 But go and learn what that is--I will have mercy and not sacrifice; for I have not come to call righteous men but sinners.
Who else are considered 'poor' in the Scriptures and who can help ...?
Prov. 31:20 ...
(DRB) She hath opened her hand to the needy, and stretched out her hands to the poor.
(ESV) She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
Yes, the capable woman sees to the NEEDS of others ... be they spiritual, material, physical or emotional ... for the 'poor one' covers all of these areas do they not ...
So, if ALL of us ...(not just elders) want to honor God and the poor ... let us TAKE THE INITIATIVE and DO what we can for them ... let us NOT be like the Scripture mentioned at James 2:15,16 ...
15 If a brother or a sister is without clothing and in need of the day's food,
16 And one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warm and full of food; but you do not give them the things of which their bodies have need, what profit is there in this?
These 'poor ones' cannot be 'fed' or 'clothed' on WORDS ... they need the REAL THING ... or if they need a hearing hear then TAKE THE TIME ...
And may we do it in the spirit of 2Cor. 9:7-9 ...
7 Let each one give just as he decides in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that in everything always having all sufficiency, you may abound for every good work,
9 just as it is written: "He has dispersed, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever."
So, let us magnify and honor the love that our God and his Son have by imitating their love toward others ... :heartbeat::grouphug:
Well, I really did rattle and ramble on today ... sorry about that ... :love:
Luv to yall now and always ... BR :sheepy: :bouncyhearts: