17If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!
You are no doubt familiar with the term “tunnel vision.” Tunnel vision is the concept of becoming so focused on what is right in front of us that we do not pay attention to anything around us. For example, we human beings can often become so focused on our own lives and needs that we fail to recognize the needs of the people all around us. If we want to live lives with an eternal impact, we have to reject this tunnel vision and selfishness and begin to pay attention to the people and their needs around us.
Yesterday in our Bible study, we began looking at Jesus’ parable in Luke 16. The parable begins by telling us about a rich man who lavishly “lived each day in luxury” (verse 19). Jesus continued this parable by saying that right outside this rich man’s gate was a poor man named Lazarus. Lazarus may have been in close proximity to the rich man, but their lives could not have looked more different. The rich man wore elaborate and expensive clothing; Lazarus was covered in sores (verse 20). Lazarus lay at the rich man’s gate, just hoping to receive scraps of food to eat that were discarded from the rich man’s table (verse 21). As he lay at his gate, dogs, likely stray dogs, would lick Lazarus’s wounds. All the while, the rich man lived in luxury. What he could have offered to this man, even just daily food, could have changed his life, and yet he kept on living, ignoring a need right at his own gate. May we learn from his example and refuse to ignore needs, especially those right in front of us.
As we consider the stark contrast between the rich man and Lazarus in the parable in Luke 16, we would be wise to reflect on the words found in Proverbs 19:17, “If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and He will repay you!” (verse 17). The most important truth we can glean from this verse is that when we take care of the needs of those around us, it is as if we are giving to God. Why? He cares about the poor and needy around us. That would have been enough, but the writer of this Proverb continued with this Proverb saying, “…and He will repay you.” Now, this does not mean He will repay us with earthly treasures. Instead, He will always take care of us, and He will reward us in eternity by the way we stewarded our resources for Him.
We can choose to live differently than the rich man in Luke 16. We can choose to live without tunnel vision. Let’s open our eyes and directly look at the needs around us. Let’s pay attention to other people and their needs and make every effort to help in the ways that we are able.
Moving toward action
Choose today to pay attention. Specifically, look out for the needs of the people around you. As you see needs, meet them. Meeting them can look like prayer, offering a word of encouragement, providing a meal if that need is for a warm meal, or something else. Let’s set out to see everyone around us, along with their needs, not just today, but every day.
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray.
“God, as I set out to see needs and help those around me, help me…”
Going Deeper
1Better to be poor and honest
than to be dishonest and a fool.
2Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good;
haste makes mistakes.
3People ruin their lives by their own foolishness
and then are angry at the Lord.
4Wealth makes many “friends”;
poverty drives them all away.
5A false witness will not go unpunished,
nor will a liar escape.
6Many seek favors from a ruler;
everyone is the friend of a person who gives gifts!
7The relatives of the poor despise them;
how much more will their friends avoid them!
Though the poor plead with them,
their friends are gone.
8To acquire wisdom is to love yourself;
people who cherish understanding will prosper.
9A false witness will not go unpunished,
and a liar will be destroyed.
10It isn’t right for a fool to live in luxury
or for a slave to rule over princes!
11Sensible people control their temper;
they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.
12The king’s anger is like a lion’s roar,
but his favor is like dew on the grass.
13A foolish child[1] is a calamity to a father;
a quarrelsome wife is as annoying as constant dripping.
14Fathers can give their sons an inheritance of houses and wealth,
but only the Lord can give an understanding wife.
15Lazy people sleep soundly,
but idleness leaves them hungry.
16Keep the commandments and keep your life;
despising them leads to death.
17If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—
and he will repay you!
18Discipline your children while there is hope.
Otherwise you will ruin their lives.
19Hot-tempered people must pay the penalty.
If you rescue them once, you will have to do it again.
20Get all the advice and instruction you can,
so you will be wise the rest of your life.
21You can make many plans,
but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
22Loyalty makes a person attractive.
It is better to be poor than dishonest.
23Fear of the Lord leads to life,
bringing security and protection from harm.
24Lazy people take food in their hand
but don’t even lift it to their mouth.
25If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded will learn a lesson;
if you correct the wise, they will be all the wiser.
26Children who mistreat their father or chase away their mother
are an embarrassment and a public disgrace.
27If you stop listening to instruction, my child,
you will turn your back on knowledge.
28A corrupt witness makes a mockery of justice;
the mouth of the wicked gulps down evil.
29Punishment is made for mockers,
and the backs of fools are made to be beaten.
Translation notes (1)
- 19:13 Hebrew son; also in 19:27.
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