Mission Possible – End Extreme Material Poverty: Openhanded

Key Verse

There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

Deuteronomy 15:11 (NIV)

Short Reflection

We can never brag of our possessions. “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it…” (Psalm 24:1). Even the things we worked so hard for. “… for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” (Deuteronomy 8:18) Whatever we have is held in trust for the King, our Lord, who blesses us to bless others, especially the poor who do not have as many options in life. Gandhi’s quote challenges our lifestyle: “Live simply so others may simply live.”

“Openhanded” connotes being confident and unafraid to give. The opposite, tightfisted, implies being insecure and unhappy. Has the Lord brought you to the point in your life when nothing else matters except the joy of the Lord? And you want to give up everything else just so you may please Him? In the aspect of blessing others with what He has put in our hands, what can we do, so that our Lord rejoices to use our lives as His vessel to receive and pour out His resources to others, just needing to survive on a day to day basis. And yes! He is most trustworthy: “those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” (Psalm 34:10)

This is the second in the “End Extreme Material Poverty” series of blog posts on our Journey to Palpable Kingdom Presence. It is submitted to Elizabeth Veñegas from our Filipino partner, The Center for Community Transformation.