Monday, September 10, 2018

TIM Good morning, I’m Tim Wise, Senior Adult Minister and Sanctuary Choir Director at Central. As followers of Jesus, our ministry to the poor and outcasts is an important calling that I feel we often times neglect. We tend to take the mindset of negativity and have thoughts like, “Why don’t they go get a job,” or “Someone else can help them.” But this response is not what we are called to do. From as early as the Old Testament times, we are called to minister and work with the poor and lowly. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 guides us in this way. “If there is a poor person among you…you must not be hardhearted or tightfisted…instead you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has. Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart…and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart…for there will never cease to be poor people among you…you must willingly open your hand to your afflicted and poor brother.” If you are blessed with more than enough, than why not share out of your abundance? And even when you think you don’t have enough to share, why not share out of whatever you have? You can go a day without your coffee or your new shoes or even those expensive groceries. How blessed you will feel when you surrender what you don’t need to someone who does and think about how much of a blessing you could be to that person.