OneStickTwoEnds

Proverbs 21:13

Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.

There have been many times in our lives when my husband and I, do to circumstances beyond our control, did not have the funds to pay our monthly obligations. More than once my husbands pay was cut in half. To make things worse, his benefits were also taken away. He is the only breadwinner, so this makes things very hard. The bills are still there, but the funds have diminished. The Lord brought us through many hard times, and continues to do so. It is by His hands we have made it thus far. He has lots of resources and uses His children to help in times like these; hopefully His children are listening to His voice. He also uses those who have a tender heart who may not know the Lord as of yet. The Lord can use anyone He chooses to help meet the needs of others. But woe to those who know someone is in need and fails to help them. One day they shall be on the other end of the stick and their cries of help will not be answered. I would NOT want to be in that situation, would you?

God’s word says in Proverbs 3:27 and 28 Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbor, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee. This is why we did not have funds to pay our bills many times. My husband’s boss on numerous occasions withheld what was due my husband for his labor. His boss had the money and could have put it into the company so his employees got paid, but chose not to, thus putting his employees at risk concerning their obligations. A vicious cycle began to turn and went on for years, all because of one man.

Our Heavenly Father is in the giving business and I think it makes Him happy to see his children doing the same thing. If someone labors for you and you promise to pay them at a certain day and hour, make sure you keep that obligation. Also if you know someone in need and have the funds to help, don’t withhold…no one likes a stingy person, not even God.

March 21, 2009