Vickie Johnson Ministries

     Have you ever taken out a loan from a bank, a credit company or even a pawn shop? We all know too well what the general expectation is: at some agreed upon point, the amount you borrowed (plus interest) will have to be repaid. Consider that at the time the funds were lent, there existed a certain honor system whereby the lender had to trust you to honor your end of the agreement, or they would never have released the funds to begin with. Many people promise to repay a loan that they never do. Everyone can seem to remember when they need to borrow money. The strange thing is how time plays with their memory the moment they receive the help.

     The thing about lending and borrowing is, that the lender is typically in a better financial situation than the borrower, which is how the need arose in the first place. However in the Bible we are shown a quite different situation. Proverbs 19:22 tells us, "He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will He pay him again." There are things that strike me as strange about that scripture. First of all, who repays someone from whom they have not borrowed? Secondly, since when is God in a position that He has ever had to borrow from ANYBODY? It's really quite simple. God is self sustaining and always has been. He has never needed anything, and even if He did, we don't have it to give. All we ever had, it was He Who gave it to us. But He uses situations as opportunities to bless us through our obedience to Him. So one of the things He commands us to do is to have pity on the poor. We should know better than to think that this means to merely feel sorry for the less fortunate. Faith and love are both action words. So to have pity on the poor does not mean to just feel bad because they have less, but to take decisive action to alleviate their impoverished condition. John the Baptist explains it well when He says in Luke 3:11, "He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise." In other words, if you have it to spare, don't hesitate to share. God's people were never intended to be miserly, greedy and selfish hoarders, but conduits of blessing to those who have not received the good of this life that we were so privileged to have and enjoy. The beauty of it is, when we are obedient to the Lord's command to share our abundance with those who do not have, God equates it to lending it to Him--not because He needs us to, but because in doing so, we position ourselves to be blessed by Him. We are promised that what we have given, He will pay again. Think about that! God promises us that if we give to the poor, that He would repay us, as if we had extended Him a personal loan! Now we can be assured that if anybody keeps their promises, God always does, always has and always will! Consider that, especially as we embark upon the time of the year that for so many are the toughest of all--the holiday season. If God has been good to you (that is rhetorical, NOT hypothetical!) then make it a point to share part of that goodness with someone who needs it more. However He chooses to bless you back with be worth so much more than whatever you released. On that, you can depend!