Benevolence

Wednesday 12/14/2011 5:22 AM

Today I read from Deuteronomy 15 where it describes the seventh year, a time when the debts of fellow Hebrews were to be cancelled.  Verses 12-14 describe the protocol for slaves, “If any of your people – Hebrew men or women – sell themselves to you and serve you six years, in the seventh year you must let them go free.  And when you release them, do not send them away empty-handed.  Supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress.  Give to them as the Lord your God has blessed you.”

Over the course of the past few years the economy has taken a dive and thousands have lost their jobs, had their cars repossessed, had their homes foreclosed or some other equally devastating event.  It seems that our consumer-based economy has come to a grinding halt and all attempts by the government to jumpstart it have been to no avail.  Depending upon whom you talk to, the fault is laid at the feet of corporate greed, or too much government intervention, or too little government intervention, or individual irresponsibility or … you fill in the blank.

Regardless of whom you blame, in my opinion, the root cause is selfishness, looking out for myself without regard to others.  In the corporate world, selfishness exhibits itself in decisions that are made to maximize profits without regarding the effects on the workers, the community or the environment.  In the political realm, selfishness exhibits itself in making laws that benefit my cronies and me and will ensure my reelection, without giving regard to the effects of the laws on a larger constituency.  In the personal realm, selfishness exhibits itself in wanting personal benefit without personal cost without giving regard to the cost to my neighbor.  I personally believe that this tendency toward selfishness is inherent to human nature and, knowing that, God prescribed a different way of living for his people.

In God’s economy some people prosper while others fail, often through no fault of their own.  But God does not want it to be a lifelong failure; it is to be only for a time.  My prosperity is not meant to benefit me alone, it is to be shared with the larger community.  In our western world we see prosperity and poverty as something that is earned through either hard work or through sloth.  When viewed from this perspective what I earn is mine to keep and those who have little or nothing simply need to work harder and stop being so lazy.  In truth, my prosperity is a gift of God for the good of the broader community.  My health, my intellect, my drive to work hard, my circumstances, … everything, comes from the hand of God.  God is liberal with his gifts to me and his call to me is to simply reflect his benevolence to me by being benevolent to others.

In her book Poustinia, Catherine de Hueck Doherty writes, "...if I touch God I must touch humanity."  If I have an intimate, living relationship with God, I won't simply curl up in a ball and bask in the glow of his love, I will share his heart for people and will be moved by compassion to show grace and mercy to others around me.  It sounds so simple.  Why do I struggle so in carrying it out?