Having a Heart in a Sometimes Heartless World
Scripture focus: If you get rid of unfair practices, quit blaming victims, quit gossiping about other people’s sins, if you are generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out, your lives will begin to glow in the darkness, your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places – firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry. You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the foundations from out of your past. You’ll be known as those who can fix anything, restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community livable again.” Isaiah 58:9-12 The Message
I have a friend who looks at old, rundown properties and sees potential. She reminds me of the kind of person God is referencing in Isaiah 58. How can we become a person who takes trash and turns it into treasure?
* Instead of sitting around talking about what is unfair all the time – be the kind of person who practices fairness in all our affairs.
We can treat others fairly. This will take work. I suspect we’ll soon discover that we don’t have time to critique the way others behave – we’ll be so busy concentrating on how we behave. Are you fair in your dealings with others? Do you complain about your pay, only to cheat your boss by not giving him/her a fair day’s work? Do you talk about the way others treat you, without full disclosure about how you treat others? Play fair.
* Quit blaming victims; quit gossiping about other people’s sins.
There is absolutely no reason on earth for us to discuss other people’s problems and sins in a gossipy tone. What business is that of mine – or yours? Don’t we have enough on our plate – trying to make lemonade out of our own lemony lives? If we can learn how to not live like a victim, and figure out what we’re supposed to be doing with our own sin – that’s probably enough work for one day!
* Be generous with the hungry and give ourselves to the down-and-out.
I once knew a guy who would come over to my house for dinner and eat like a pig. He always wanted to be first in the chow line. He took the first AND last dessert. He never noticed when a potluck dinner was skimpy. He ate what he wanted without regard to anyone else. I thought his behavior was despicable…until I noticed that I did the same. It’s true – I don’t approach buffets with the same rigor that my friend does, but I show that same disregard for others. I’m thoughtless and careless and inconsiderate of those around me. I miss the clues that a friend might be running on empty and need a helping hand. I may rush ahead with my plans, without pausing to give myself to the down-and-out. How does that make me any different than my perpetually hungry friend? It doesn’t! If I want to live a satisfying life, I’m going to need to learn how to live by the psalmist’s perspective – “The Lord is my shepherd – I have everything I need.” I’ve got to stop acting like the beggar on the street corner, hoping others will feed me and instead, figure out how to lend a hand to others. It’s as we give that our shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight. It’s a good first step to the abundant life.
Recommended reading: Ezekiel 32 and 33 in the morning; Psalm 90 and 91 in the evening
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