Theological Commentary: Click Here
The theme of
Deuteronomy 15 is generosity. Again and again
in this chapter we hear the message that we are to give to those in need. We are to lend without expecting back. We are to be willing to release our
possessions into being the possession of others. We are to give freely out of our herd and
flock (or other material possessions, for those of us who don’t live in an
agrarian society anymore). This is
especially true for those who serve us.
I want you
to hear how strange this advice really is.
Think about common practice in today’s world. I’ll give a few examples. Employers give their employees exactly the
amount due to them for the work provided and nothing more. Many people go into a restaurant and
calculate exactly 10% for the tip and no more. Banks lend money for up to thirty years and
never offer a grace period – much less a period of forgiveness. Restaurants often weight their food before
giving it out to make sure that they are not over-portioning according to their
profit-margin.
Don’t get me
wrong. I’m not saying that any of the
practices above are necessarily bad, and I’m certainly not saying that the
practices I list above are evil. They
are common sense practices based upon the rule of fair exchange. Two parties agree to trade quantities, often
money and a particular good. The
agreement is then executed. That’s how
the world works.
But that’s
not how God works. God tells us to lend
and not expect back. He tells us to be
generous when people leave our presence.
He tells us to give, knowing that we have already received from God more
than our due.
This really
is a challenging chapter when it comes to perspective. I am sure God wants us to be good
stewards. Yet, I am also sure that God
wants us to be generous with what He has already given to us, especially when
dealing with the poor and those who have no advocate. We need to keep both ideals in our mind as we
go out into the world.
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