The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work. All day long he craves for more, but the righteous give without sparing.
Last Friday, after I had worked at NAMOC for 6 hours, I hopped into my car, drove to Sandy Springs and worked for 3 hours making cheese with my friend Susan at CalyRoad. Sometime during those hours, a man stopped in, asked to buy some cheese with a debit card and wanted to add $10 onto to so he could buy some gas/Marta tokens/some other something. We use Square to process our cards and his was declined.
He was embarrassed. I reached into my apron and gave him the $10. He said he would pay it back. I hope so for his sake, not for mine.
I tell this story because in Proverbs time, it was all about the body and what it could pull from the land. If you worked hard, consistently, day in and day out, your family wouldn't starve. you might be hungry. But you wouldn't starve.
Today, it is about the mind. Now, I have no idea if this man was intelligent or not. But what he was, was flat broke. Broke enough to try and use a debit card without $17.49 in an account.
Does this mean that Proverbs doesn't speak to us today? I am not sure. I didn't give without sparing. I only gave him $10 and I had $20 in my apron.
And does that make him a sluggard? I am not sure it is my call to judge.
I have a good friend who is a Youth Minister in MidTown. Early on, he decided that he was always going to carry McDonald's money in his pockets. Not a day goes by that he isn't approached by panhandlers. He wanted to have a good solid plan in hand as to what he was going to do. He didn't want to give money since so many were already intoxicated and he felt like he couldn't live his faith if he didn't give. So, he settled on McBucks.
When my boys started riding Marta (Atlanta's rapid transit trains), they were 11 and 9. I rode with them the first 3 months. We saw lots of homeless, some punks and a few thugs. I also saw a stabbing. We practiced dealing with beggars, 'sorry, I don't have anything to give', changing cars when you felt threatened, even the all time low point, pressing the call button for the conductor (me with the stabbing).
Both of them are practiced and can tell a 'real' need from a drink need. Both have bought someone food and a Marta token. They have a discerning heart.
Me, not so much. I spend entirely too much time analyzing the situation.
What about you? Do automatically think 'sluggard' when asked for money? Have you ever had to ask for money? What do you do about 'giving without sparing'?
OT -- Job 1:1-3:26
Please click here to read Nancy's Noodle to set you up for the Job reading. She does a great job.
Loved Nancy's Noodle!
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