Hello siblings, a question for you: How do you feel about panhandlers? I must be honest. Seeing beggars does not unearth my supportive instincts. While seeing homeless people bothers me, beggars present to my mind as professionals, be it individual or organised crime. In my mind, it’s as if they’re all panhandlers and are preying upon us to earn their living. Sometimes, I wonder if I’m so unmoved because of Today’s Holy Nougat.
Psalms 37:25 CEB
[25] I was young, and now I’m old, but I have never seen the righteous left all alone, have never seen their children begging for bread.
Who are the righteous?
When we hold to our Nougat, there is the temptation to see beggars and panhandlers as being outside of God’s blessing or reach. Yet, Y’shua is clear – the poor are permanently in our midst (see Matthew 26:11), and God expects us to take care of the misfortunate (read Deuteronomy 15:11). Moreover, Proverbs 19:17 is clear that kindness to the poor is a loan to God.
But is there a difference between our call to be kind and those who beg? And if there are folks who beg, like Bartimaeus, Lazarus of the parable, or the man healed by Peter and John, can they qualify as ‘righteous’?
David’s assertion that he’s never seen the righteous forsaken or their offspring begging doesn’t seem to add up to those other verses about beggars. In fact, it is easy to take my stance, which presupposed that a beggar can’t be righteous. But that goes against the grain of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. For, it was the poor man in Luke 16 who made it to heaven. So again, what is righteousness?
Our first righteousness encounter is with Bro Abram in Genesis 15. We are told that Abram’s willingness to believe God’s outrageous promise of numerous offspring from his own loins was counted by God as righteousness! Abram might have thought himself righteous, but it was his faith that made the difference in God’s eyes.
Self-Check
In times of trial, how willing are we to have faith in God? Could we be found righteous based on our trust?
Application
Siblings, I invite us to realize that righteousness ‘practised’ by us in our human strength is of no value to God. In fact, that’s when it becomes a ‘filthy rag’ (beggars clothes). It is totally unacceptable to God, for we are operating in our flesh nature, rather than allowing ourselves to rely on God’s Spirit.
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount also includes a critical reference to righteousness that applies to our reflections. In Matthew 6, Y’shua said we must seek after God’s kingdom and righteousness first, then we don’t need to worry about other things – God will provide it (Matthew 6:33, Nicqi’s paraphrase). That, siblings, brings us back to the premise that a) righteousness is faithfully believing in God and following God’s commands; and b) that we really don’t need to beg when we put our trust in God.
Abram’s act of faith was counted as righteousness. Yet, we see he was blessed even as he experienced trials. We receive ‘all other things’ (i.e., what we wear and eat, as well as where we live, whether we have offspring, where we’ll work, how well perform in school) when (after) we prioritise God and God’s ways. That act of prioritising God and God’s business is what makes us righteous.
It doesn’t mean we stop living. It doesn’t mean we stop studying or working, etc. But it does mean that we chart our course by God’s map and allow God to navigate our path. Will we?
Point to Ponder
The righteous will falter, we will face trials, but we are never alone. Selah
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May all we seek be found in Christ
