You Are Your Brother's Keeper

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:16-18

How important is your comfort to you? How important is your financial security?  How important is your faith in God and obedience to the Word of God? Like it or not, there is a tension between the things of the world and the things of the heavenlies.  Our old nature and our new nature.  I had the privilege of meeting with three families yesterday to hear their stories and their struggle.  Every day they face the possibility of total failure.  So many of us worry about the accumulation of our 401k’s while so many others wonder if they will be OK today – worried they won’t have enough to see it through the day.  Each family I met was persevering in the face of great hardship – it brings perspective.  I was reminded of Matthew 25 when both the sheep and the goats asked Jesus “Lord, when did we see you?” and He answered, “When you did or did not attend to the needs of those in need, you did or did not do it to Me.” It is so easy to walk by or look the other way – when you are focused on yourself.

“And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’” – Luke 12:16-20

God does not say go hungry so your Brother will not be hungry.  But He does say – “If I have given you an abundance, over and above what you need to live,  it is not so can spend it on yourself." (or build bigger barns.) We have friends – mentors really – whose life motto is “We live simply so others can simply live!” They have been very successful in life, but live in a very simple way.  Are you willing to do without so someone else can simply do? Man has tried to mimic God’s plan for mankind – socialism and communism are natural imitations of Spiritual principles.  They both fail miserably – God is not in it – in fact He is excluded from it.  Since Adam – man has wanted to be – not just like God – but his own god.  1 John 3:16 reminded me of Jesus words in John 15.

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” – John 15:13

Setting yourself aside for the benefit of others. The world will not fault you for taking care of yourself. In fact it will applaud you in your financial success, maybe even call you a good steward.  God, on the other hand might say, “You Fool”.  Think about it – maybe it’s time for a change in your priorities.

By Faith Alone By His Grace Alone And For His Glory Alone