Tiny Devotional for Saturday, 10/-3.2020

 Oh, happy cool fall morning to all of my Internet friends and neighbors! And to those family members who have stumbled upon this reading: my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA, is having a HORRIBLE time trying to persuade Pitty Sing and Daniel San to stop drinking her coffee and eating the muffins we have for our breakfast. 

I really need to get her a dog; cats don't obey worth beans. (She's muttering...never a good sign...)

 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
When it is in your power to do it.
Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it”
Proverbs 3:27-28, NASB

Some many years ago, living on the close edge, I was renting a house from a friend at church. We had a flexible rent arrangement, which means that he had a house that needed renters, and he knew my income was iffy, so he would take what I had to offer. It's the kind of arrangement that requires a DEEP level of trust! I wouldn't advise anyone to enter into such a thing, unless at absolute point of need. 

I don't remember the circumstances, but I had come into a minor windfall of cash, probably a matter of a couple of hundred dollars. At any rate, I had already paid my friend for the month, in an amount smaller than what we had agreed upon. And when the bonus money came in, I had PLENTY of places I could put it, oh yes I did! But then I read this verse, and grew convicted that I was in violation of our agreement, and also with God's wisdom. So, I coughed up the dough to my landlord friend, and set myself free of many hours of wrestling with guilt and the other consequences of deceit. And, we made it another month.

So, THAT'S a literal application of this truth. Today, though: are there FIGURATIVE applications we can find in our lives? Are there friends, co-workers, even family, that you might owe a debt of service, a sharing of wisdom, or a bowl of soup prepared in love? DON'T rush out and give sammiches to the entire neighborhood, just because you can! But, if you find an opportunity to speak encouragement, comfort, and love, why not take the risk, and do it?

They might be feeling like this on the inside...


Peace be on your household.

 

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