On being our brother's keeper

“But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers.”    

1 Timothy 5:8

When God confronted Cain regarding the murder of Abel, Cain made a statement that has been frequently quoted ever since, when he replied: “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

This question has been oft  repeated, and answered in many different ways throughout the intervening millennia. Paul, writing to Timothy in the above passage gives us a partial answer. While Paul’s remarks are offered in a different context, it is indeed a fair answer to Cain’s question.

About a year ago I felt that the Holy Spirit was leading me to help my brother-in-law financially. He is on disability, and doesn’t have much money. What little money he  has, he doesn’t always spend wisely, but then, neither do I.  Since I don’t have much, I haven’t been able to give much, but the fact that we have helped him out has inspired  other family members to chip in as well. I mention this only because I am beginning to see much need in our world today, and I am seeing that God wants us to be a part of the solution to the problem.

The Bible has much to say about the poor, and about caring for them, and about not exploiting them. Reading about these things in recent years, it has become clear to me that God’s thoughts about these matters are different from the thoughts I had come to think about the poor, and about why they are that way, and what I should be doing about them. I don’t think that God is as concerned about their work habits and their spending habits as He is that their basic needs for food and shelter not go unmet.

I thought about these words of Paul recently as I was reading a popular book about the current economic crisis, written by secular rather than Christian authors. In the book, entitled Aftershock, authors Wiedemer, Wiedemer and Spitzer make many dire predictions for the near future of our troubled economy. One prediction in particular caught my attention:

                “In our . . .  society, the people who do have jobs will . . . help support friends and relatives who are unemployed.” (P. 213)

Many believe that our economic troubles are over, and that we are in a “recovery”. I hope they are right, but I fear that they are not. Last night’s local news reported that 34,000 people in Iowa have been looking, apparently unsuccessfully, for work for six months or more. In view of statistics like this, probably most of us have, or will have a relative who could use our assistance. Most of us living in RV’s will not find it practical to take them in to our homes, but there are many other ways we could help. In my book, Going Forth in the Name, I discuss the subject of giving to the poor on pages 128-30.

Another issue that I discuss in the chapters on Stewardship is that the New Testament teaches 100% giving, rather than the “ten-percent-and-you-are-off-the-hook” teaching that so many of us have been taught. This truth is illustrated in this passage from the book of Acts:

                “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions were his own, but they shared everything they had.”      Acts 4:32 NIV

As I pointed out in the book, this is not a command to follow communal living, but a recognition that everything we have comes from God, and that it is our duty to follow His Spirit’s leading in how we use all of what He has given us.

We have a responsibility as Christian believers to step up to the plate in these difficult times, and show our love for our families, relatives, and the “household of faith” as well, by seeing that we care for their needs.

There is also an interesting story in found in Nehemiah 5:1-15 that deals with how we relate to our relatives in need. I won’t go in to that passage here but I recommend that you read it.

The point I am trying to make in all of this is that we are living in difficult economic times, and in these difficult times we need to listen to what our Lord is saying to us about helping those who are in need, particularly those who are close to us. if we care for one another, the world will see, and as the song goes: “They will know we are Christians by our love . . .”  As Jesus said:

“ . . . Much is required from those to whom much is given, and much more is required from those to whom much more is given. "   Luke 12:48 (NLT)

Thanks for sharing this moment with  me today.