Helping Others Is Godly & Productive, As God Desires
Word-Of-The-Day: ‘<God said to Isaiah,> “They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way; they seek their own gain.”’ (Isaiah 56:11)
Columbus Day is approaching us again in mid-October (Monday 14 October to be exact). Good ole’ Christopher set sail 532 years ago to lead his three ships to America, likely in some of the same areas many of us have taken cruises to in the Caribbean. Chris and his men volunteered to go on this mission to find a direct passage to the Orient and open up trade routes, and ended up finding the Bahamas, Cuba, and Hispaniola (Haiti/Dominican Republic). Their travels were perilous, and their supplies had dwindled. Had they not ‘found’ land, all would have been lost before the ships returned to Spain.
The Santa Maria had to be abandoned in Haiti after running aground there, and there were various accusations of theft, kidnapping, and mutinies by the crew to the native people living on the islands they visited (though they were helped by the chief of the tribe on Hispaniola in setting up a colony there). What kept Chris going was his fervent Christian beliefs and that he had found not only the passage to the Orient but the Kingdom of Sheba, which in the Bible provided some of King Solomon’s gold and jewels for his treasury.
Believing the Lord led him on this journey to find it, Columbus thought he would help restore God’s people to the prosperity of Israel’s level in Solomon’s day. He was not necessarily wrong in this; the discovery of the New World (North and South America) provided not only gold, silver, and gems to Spain and the other European nations but also other valuable resources and eventually the most powerful nation in history 300 years later, the United States. However, like Israel, their greed also took Europe away from God, despite the strong influence of the Catholic Church and the Pope.
When a disaster hits like the loss of the Santa Maria, or in our case the effects of a bad storm, we should take stock in these times, both during the storm and after recovery, of the blessings of what we have, to reset what our priorities really are. Columbus and his crew had a priority to survive, but once they assured their survival, their greed resurfaced. Let’s not be like Columbus and his men, and not turn again to what we can gain now but instead take stock in what the Lord has provided us, and help those around us who are struggling. How history would have been different if Columbus’ focus been on helping the natives instead of his focus on finding treasures to bring back to Spain…
Isaiah wrote these words from God in reference to the Israelites; God compared them to dogs. Dogs (and cats), especially when domesticated, are consumers. They lay around, do little to contribute to their well-being, and take up resources for their own good. I say this as someone who loves his cats (Leta & Lacey) very much and I am OK with the cats’ sole purpose of consuming resources and being cute. However, other than being cute and cuddly, they do nothing to counter their consumption with anything productive. (Mousers they are not, I think they would likely cuddle with a mouse than eat it.)
In Columbus’ expedition, the effort was to find a quicker, easier passage to China to enrich the ‘Old World’; today we have allowed technology to ease our burdens. Some of this (like electricity) is obviously good to have as we can produce more with it than without it. When disaster strikes, when the power is off and there is a mess to clean up; many move forward to help others, to work on how to best survive the aftermath the storm brings, providing a hand to give others help. The folks who help are producers; they understand in order to consume, one must first produce in order to consume and provide for others to consume as well.
In Isaiah’s day, God recognized there were many consumers but little producers, in Isaiah 56:10, God compared Israel to sleeping dogs, who dream all day and are not even good at being watchdogs as they are too lazy to bark. Some have forgotten how to produce, and in many natural disasters they look and expect the government or others to come and provide for them, with no effort to help others or even themselves. Now God wants us to depend on Him for all things; however, we are also not to be sluggards but to contribute to help ourselves and help others. This is why when we have the ability to help other in need, like the Florida Baptist Disaster Relief team as an example, is a blessing; many are willing to provide help despite having to also prepare, fix and clean up their own homes.
It is a blessing to receive help and if you need help, please ask! But what can you do to reciprocate? It does not have to be equal in effort to be equal in effectiveness. It is not ‘tarp for a tarp’, but perhaps ‘tarp for checking in on a neighbor and offering them prayer’ or a meal. The effort should always involve advancing the cause of Christ and sharing the Gospel message.
It does not take much to be a producer; take a neighbor a meal, perhaps help them with cleaning up their yard, deliver goods to them, and especially share Jesus with them in their despair. Don’t just consume for the sake of consuming, produce for the cause of Christ and be obedient to Him! Even if physically assisting someone cannot be done, pray the Lord providing according to their needs.
