“In every way I’ve shown you that it is necessary to help the weak by laboring like this and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, because he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭35‬ ‭CSB‬‬

This morning I was just thinking how wonderful it is that God is a good God.

Imagine if God, the all-powerful creator and of the universe, was hate-filled instead of good. What if He were mean-spirited and enjoyed pain and suffering? What if chaos made Him chuckle, and He hated beauty? How awful this world and my existence in it would be.

Fortunately, that is not God. Our Creator is love. He loves good. He loves His children to be good, to do good, to be kind and generous with each other. He loves beauty and delights in the creativity and discovery of His children. I can see all these marvelous things just by observing His creation. The sun rises and sets predictably, not on some treacherously random timetable. Flowers bloom with delightful aromas. Birds sing cheerful tunes for the sheer joy of singing, it seems.

But even with a loving God, not everything is sunshine and roses here. Because of our rejection of God’s goodness, a mean-spirited evil has laid claim to much in our world bringing with it disease and poverty, selfishness and fear, pain, death, and loss.

Until Jesus comes again to make all things right, we have to live in the midst of this brokenness. But God has not abandoned us to it. He has given us many remedies. Today’s verse talks about one very important remedy for the ills of society.

We are to help each other.

Because of the brokenness of the world, there is drastic inequality among its people. Some are able to work and make a living while some are less able. Those who are able are told to share with those who are not. It’s as simple as that.

Sure, because there is mean-spirited, selfish evil in the world, there are some who are able but refuse to work, preferring to steal from others. But when God tells me to share, I should err on the side of being too generous than being too stingy. I should be more afraid of someone going hungry than of someone taking advantage of me. After all, God promises to reward my generosity and provide for my needs, whether someone takes advantage of my generosity or it is well-used. Do I trust Him?

Dear God,

Thank you that I have been able to work and earn a living wage my whole life. Thank you for allowing me to be born in a country that provided education and opportunities to thrive. Thank you for health that has been sufficient for a livelihood as well. These are all gifts. Forgive me when I have wrongly taken credit for these blessings and been stingy with the benefits of my ability to earn. Remind me to be generous with those who have not been so blessed with a stable society, with education, with health, with opportunities to earn and save.