Is ‘DOING GOOD’ for others a pattern of our LIFESTYLE?
February 28
Bible Reading: Deuteronomy Chapters 22-24
Is ‘DOING GOOD’ for others a pattern of our LIFESTYLE?
"You shall not see your brother's ox or
his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring
them back to your brother. You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall
you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother's, which he has
lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself. You
shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fall down along the road, and
hide yourself from them; you shall surely help him lift them up again."
(Deut 22:1, 3-4)
When Moses
was listing the miscellaneous laws for the Israelites to obey, he spoke about
their lifestyle itself to be a ‘pattern
of good works’. The Israelites had not claimed the special merits from God
through something that they had done in the past, but they had received all the
multiplied blessings including their ‘Promised
Land’ from God as a result of the obedience and faith of their great
grandfather Abraham. In fact, they were slaves in Egypt not too long ago
(24:22), but God had delivered them through great signs, wonders and miracles!
Now, the
Israelites were expected to show the same mercy and grace in their daily
living, and display random acts of
kindness to others when they were neither expecting nor deserving it. This
passage expands upon Leviticus 19:18, describing the command to “love your neighbor.” An Israelite was not allowed to act
indifferently toward anything lost by his/her neighbor!
Every
individual in the Israelite community bore the responsibility to uphold justice
within that community, and these instructions addressed the natural human tendency not to get involved in other people’s
affairs. No one should pretend not to
have seen lost animals or goods of others for that is a form of theft or, at least a lack of brotherly love.
The rightful
ownership of private property (Exodus 23:4) is emphasized in this passage, and any
accidental loss of private property should be prevented (Exodus 23:5). Let us
note that God honors private ownership and demands honesty from us in handling
other people’s goods, even when it is not convenient for us. We are stewards of
all that God gives us, and we must be faithful even to bear the burdens of others. "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of
Christ." (Gal 6:2)
