Caribbean Moravian Devotions

Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker. Proverbs 14:31


Throughout the Bible we are given pointers as to what pleases God: we should honour God, praise God, worship God, love our neighbours.

Honouring God is done in many different ways.

When the disciples asked Jesus when did they see him hungry, or in prison or naked, his reply simply was “As long as you do it to one of the least of these you have done it unto me”. Matthew 25:40-46. But who is the least of these? Jesus was referring to the poor among them. God has a special place for the poor. He insists that those of us with enough to spare should share with the needy. In Leviticus 23:22 the farm owners were instructed not to reap everything from their fields, but to leave some for the poor. Isn’t this what Boaz instructed his reapers to do, so that Ruth could glean what was left? In James 2:1-9 we are reminded that we should love our neighbour as ourselves. James noted that you are sinning by showing favouritism to the rich, who are already exploiting us, and by sinning you will certainly not be honouring God.

In this passage in Proverbs we are told that we honour God by being kind to the needy.

At this time of the year, we need to pay attention to this method of honouring God. Let us share with the needy. The spirit of Christmas reminds us that we can honour God by giving to the needy. Many of us will give to the needy now, but what about continuing this spirit for the rest of the year?



Prayer:
O God, our father, I thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ to live among us. I thank you for his teaching and for his reminder of our responsibilities to the poor. May the spirit of this season of giving remain with us throughout the coming year. Help us, O, Lord. Amen.