Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

Pro 19:17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Alright, I'm a softie! People in need grab the yellow pages and go down through the churches looking for a handout.

Of course, Baptists are toward the top of the list, after the Assemblies of God. I am thinking of listing us under "Zoroastrian-Baptist", that way we can get the calls only after all else have been exhausted.

Here's how it works; the larger churches have secretaries who have no problem saying “no!” The smaller churches have pastors who seldom answer their phones. Then there are the technological OCD pastors who refuse to not answer their phones which have been surgically attached to their hips (or ears). I suppose they are waiting for a call from the pulpit committee of a larger church who has a secretary who can say “no!”

So, inevitably, I take the calls of the needy, patiently listen to their plight, (I tell you, some of them can really concoct a story) all the while trying to figure out how I am going to say "Yeah, right, in your dreams could we help you!"

But there are those times when the needs of a family grip my heart and there's no way I can say no.

Enter in the "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD" clause. God in heaven knows when we give out of pure hearts to help the needy and, without fail, He blesses that pity we show. As has been said so many times, you cannot out give God. God will be a debtor to no man. He always keeps His accounts short.

Apostle James said that we don't show a whole lot of Christ's love when we merely tell the needy "God bless you, be ye warmed and filled." He says that we are saved by faith, but he said there should be some accompanying works to prove it.

When we have the opportunity and the wherewithal to be a blessing to those who are in need of one, let's not shut up our hearts of compassion, but go ahead and be a blessing, considering it a loan to the Lord. And God's promise is that He will return it to us, pressed down, shaken together and running over.