Proverbs 3:27-30 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you. Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm.
In four short verses Solomon by the Holy Spirit presses upon us the necessity of redeeming those opportunities God places in front of us to do good to our neighbor. The Christian is to be generous, a free giver. We should always be looking for an opportunity to help, to give, to encourage, and to exercise the love which Jesus Christ has planted within us. To neglect such opportunities is failure and a lack of love. Selfishness is is completely contrary to all that Christ represents and the life He lived. Love in word and in deed, Christians.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
Show Notes:
- Who is our neighbor? The Scripture declares that every man is our neighbor. [01:05]
- The Bible is replete with similar exhortations [01:58]
- Galatians 6:10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. [02:08]
- Titus 3:1 Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work… [02:22]
- 1 John 3:17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? [02:42]
- We should do good even to evil men, those who don’t treat us well [03:07]
- Hesitation to do goo to a neighbor often involves either self-preservation or sheer selfishness [03:49]
- The story of a girl who didn’t neglect the opportunity to do good [04:19]
Significant quotes:
“If God sends rain upon the just and the unjust, if God is kind to the ungrateful and the evil, then we too should be imitators of Him as His beloved children and walk in His ways.” [03:23]
Leave a Reply