Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you. Proverbs 3:27-28
“The good that we must give to our neighbor means practical aid for an economic or physical need. It is striking that hte text adds that this is not simply a matter of charity but is your neighbor’s due. To not care for them when they are in need is not merely a lack of charity; it is injustice. Put bluntly: If you have things you neighbor doesn’t have, share them, because he or she has a right to the part of the world over which God has made you a temporary steward.”
Timothy and Kathy Keller in God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life: A Year of Daily Devotions in the Book of Proverbs (New York: Viking, 2017) reading for 27 January.
Special thanks to dear brother and Daily Meditations reader, John Ranheim, for sharing this post with me. It’s great to be reminded that we are only temporary stewards.
The implications of this are significant. For example, it leads me to view the car God has supplied as hired and the townhouse I get to live in like a hotel. They are not my things. I am only a temporary steward.
The key is not to treat anything as our own. We are not permanent owners. Such people often hold back from giving because they think they own the assets under their management. We own nothing.
As God grows our hearts in compassion this year, let’s not wait until tomorrow when we have the power to act today. When we see needs and have resources, let’s meet them.
I made it safely to El Salvador with Juan Callejas and Ereny Monir. Yes, that’s a nearby volcano pictured above from my hotel. Pray with us that our teaching time today effectively raises up faithful stewards.