"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not please ourselves." Romans 15:1
"Perhaps the reason why God hates stealing so much is that it is a crime which completely contradicts His character. God is gracious; the thief is greedy. God gives; the thief takes. God responds to the cries of the needy; the thief callously creates needs and tragedy. Nothing could be more contrary to the graciousness of God than the cruelty of the thief." - Bob Deffenbuagh, http://www.bible.org/
As a child, I grew quickly, reaching my current height of 5'8" by the time I was 13. I was always the tallest in my class, was eventually taller even than either of my older sisters. As a result, my clothes seldom had a chance to wear out. Each summer, my mother would pack these barely-used items and take them with us on vacation to give to my cousins in Canada.
One cousin, I’ll call Barbara, came from an affluent family. Her father owned a successful lumber business and shipbuilding yard. She had few real needs in her life.
The other, Debbie, came from a family of seven children. Her father suffered a brain injury in a car accident and was unable to provide for his family. They relied heavily on the charity of others to survive.
Barbara and Debbie lived side by side in houses that were as different as night from day. You could not visit one house without being seen by the occupants of the other, so there was no hiding our annual arrival from Barbara. And every summer, she would dive immediately into the clothing and greedily take the best items for herself, while Debbie stood meekly by waiting for her turn.
Even as a child that angered me to no end. My mother, too . . . but rather than risk making a scene with the relatives, she remained silent.
On Sunday, Rob outlined a variety of ways in which we can steal from one another. As I reflected on what he was saying, my two cousins came to mind and I thought, "Here’s yet another way that we can steal; by standing passively by and doing nothing when we see an injustice like this taking place."
Pray: Father, your word clearly tells us how we are to treat those whose needs are greater than our own. Help us to realize that in not taking action when we should, that we are stealing, from others and most of all from you.
"Perhaps the reason why God hates stealing so much is that it is a crime which completely contradicts His character. God is gracious; the thief is greedy. God gives; the thief takes. God responds to the cries of the needy; the thief callously creates needs and tragedy. Nothing could be more contrary to the graciousness of God than the cruelty of the thief." - Bob Deffenbuagh, http://www.bible.org/
As a child, I grew quickly, reaching my current height of 5'8" by the time I was 13. I was always the tallest in my class, was eventually taller even than either of my older sisters. As a result, my clothes seldom had a chance to wear out. Each summer, my mother would pack these barely-used items and take them with us on vacation to give to my cousins in Canada.
One cousin, I’ll call Barbara, came from an affluent family. Her father owned a successful lumber business and shipbuilding yard. She had few real needs in her life.
The other, Debbie, came from a family of seven children. Her father suffered a brain injury in a car accident and was unable to provide for his family. They relied heavily on the charity of others to survive.
Barbara and Debbie lived side by side in houses that were as different as night from day. You could not visit one house without being seen by the occupants of the other, so there was no hiding our annual arrival from Barbara. And every summer, she would dive immediately into the clothing and greedily take the best items for herself, while Debbie stood meekly by waiting for her turn.
Even as a child that angered me to no end. My mother, too . . . but rather than risk making a scene with the relatives, she remained silent.
On Sunday, Rob outlined a variety of ways in which we can steal from one another. As I reflected on what he was saying, my two cousins came to mind and I thought, "Here’s yet another way that we can steal; by standing passively by and doing nothing when we see an injustice like this taking place."
Pray: Father, your word clearly tells us how we are to treat those whose needs are greater than our own. Help us to realize that in not taking action when we should, that we are stealing, from others and most of all from you.
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