JMD Devotional 166 Psalm 41:1-4 Blessed Service

Psalm 41:1-4 BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied) is he who considers the weak and the poor; the Lord will deliver him in the time of evil and trouble. The Lord will protect him and keep him alive; he shall be called blessed in the land; and You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will sustain, refresh, and strengthen him on his bed of languishing; all his bed You [O Lord] will turn, change, and transform in his illness. I said, Lord, be merciful and gracious to me; heal my inner self, for I have sinned against You.

What is the proper motivation for giving to and for helping the poor? I would say it is not for their gratitude; for I have served the ungrateful in soup kitchens; and it really tested my motives. Some people cover their shame for needing a handout with a false air of entitlement; which is really repugnant! Nothing we offered was good enough for one such individual---it blew me away. It also is not for gaining points with God; who will certainly have you encounter an offensive individual to reveal your hypocrisy. Might I suggest proper motivation finds its source in a proper regard for their Maker; acknowledging that God fashioned them makes any human being art of the highest caliber. People are worth caring for because they have been made in His image. And in caring for the unresponsive and the ungrateful you are following in your Heavenly Father's footsteps as a young apprentice learning Kingdom work. Being an imitator of Jesus is reason enough.

Dear God,
Sometimes I major on complex points of theology and I fail in simple charity. Help me to be a dispenser of unhindered grace and kindness under Your guidance and authority. Please set up divine appointments and make me aware of the needs of others. May my service to God and man transform my own inner languishing and forget my own troubles as I perform something constructive in Jesus’ Name.
Amen

All (but*) quotes are from The Amplified Bible, published by
the Lockman Foundation. (AMP)
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
*New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
**Scripture taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. (Eugene Peterson's easy-to-read, contemporary Scripture translation)

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