Help Your Neighbor

Today I read Deuteronomy 23 which contains several various instructions.  Some of the more interesting ones that I liked was not bringing the price of a prostitute into the temple to make vows with.  That would be kind of like if you were a prostitute and you paid tithing today.  The idea is really funny and a little sad.  Or perhaps a person who stars in pornographic movies paying tithing on the money earned.  In what way would you think that is ok?  Very silly indeed.

Some of the more useful, in our day at least, commandments was on which peoples to avoid and which ones to help no matter what.  It also talks about such things as not charging interest from family, it says brother, but charging it from strangers.  Likewise it states it is ok for you to glean an ear of corn or two from your neighbors field but not to harvest from their field.  To me this is shaping and molding the Israelites to share what they have with those around them, to cultivate a spirit of sharing and giving. 

In our day and age, this has not changed.  We are still to share what we have when we can.  King Benjamin reminds us that everything we have comes from the Lord and that compared to Him we are all beggars.  We rely upon Him for everything and as such, how can we in good conscience deny our abundance to those who lack?  Now, this of course can be abused such as in our day and age with the current welfare system in the United States.  People are preying upon the generosity of others while feeding their own laziness.  This is not pleasing to God and I firmly believe they will be held accountable for it some day.  This all being said, we should not impoverish ourselves to support others if they can support themselves.  The old adage states that if you give a man a fish he will eat for a day but if you teach a man to fish he will eat for a lifetime.  Like wise if we give a man a handout he will be ok for a little while, but if you give him a job, he will be able to provide for himself for years if not the rest of his life.  Self-sufficiency is pleasing to God.  But when someone truly needs help, we should be willing to help.  That's what I take away from this chapter anyway.  Until tomorrow.