“Wise Aid”
By
Mike Wittmer
Encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
1 Thessalonians 5:14
As I stopped my car at a red light, I saw the same man standing beside the road again. He held a cardboard sign: Need money for food. Anything helps. I looked away and sighed. Was I the kind of person who ignored the needy?
Some people pretend to have needs but are actually con artists. Others have legitimate needs but face difficulties overcoming destructive habits. Social workers tell us it’s better to give money to the aid ministries in our city. I swallowed hard and drove past. I felt bad, but I may have acted wisely.
God commands us to “warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14). To do this well we must know who belongs in which category. If we warn a weak or disheartened person, we may break her spirit; if we help an idle person, we may encourage laziness. Consequently, we help best from up close, when we know the person well enough to know what he needs.
Has God burdened your heart to help someone? Great! Now the work begins. Don’t assume you know what that person needs. Ask her to share her story, and listen. Prayerfully give as seems wise and not merely to feel better. When we truly aim “to do what is good for each other,” we will more readily “be patient with everyone,” even when they stumble (vv. 14–15).
When have others most helped you? What did you learn about how best to help others?
Prayer - Father, help me to help wisely, and often.
#Copied
God loves you,
If all else fails including yourself,
God never fails.
In God there is no depression, suicide or hopelessness.
But love, peace, purpose, perseverance, hope and joy.
Emmanuella
For: TLF
#January
Matthew 12:34 You brood of vipers! how can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Proverbs 16:28 A perverse man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. Proverbs 17: 9 He who forgives an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter alienates a friend. Leviticus 19:16 You shall not go up and down as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand forth against the life of your neighbour: I am the LORD. Proverbs 26:20 For lack of wood the fire goes out; and where there is no whisperer, quarrelling ceases. 22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body. Proverbs 11:13 He who goes about as a talebearer reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing hidden. Psalms 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips from speaking deceit. Charles For: Frien...
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