Grains of Sand

Reading: Jeremiah 36-39, James 5 This is another one of those times when the Old and New Testament readings assigned for today has curiously parallel thoughts. James carries the brunt of the message this morning. At the beginning of James 5, the writer warns his audience that taking advantage of poor, or of those over whom the rich have power, will not be tolerated. The consequences will be harsh. James writes: “ Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you ” (James 1:1, NIV). All that has been accumulated will be destroyed. It’s not because God doesn’t approve of people having money. It’s the injustice and inequality that bothers God to the extent that He uses harsh words and even harsher judgment against those who ignore what is right and just when it comes to the distribution of wealth. “ Look! The wages you have failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters h...

“ He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done ” —Proverbs 19:17, NIV. One of the subjects that frequently came up for discussion among our people in Venezuela was how to respond to the poor begging for money at so many of the intersections throughout the city. The topic wasn’t whether or not to help them, but which ones were genuinely in need. I always remembered the story told by a colleague of her experience while she was at language school in Costa Rica. It was pouring rain the night the knock came to the door of her house. When she opened the door, a bedraggled woman dressed in tattered clothes stood in the doorway. She was soaking wet and clutching a baby in her arms. There was another small child clinging to her skirts. She told my friend her sad story and asked for any kind of help that she could give her. How could my friend refuse? She gave the woman some money for which she was profusely thanked. After the woman had gone ...