Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Give Without Expecting Anything In Return

"Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous." -- Luke 14:12-14

Isn't it funny how we tend to skip over some verses in the Bible. Oh, we read them. We just don't absorb them. It's like selective hearing. In this case, we only "hear" what we want to hear.

Jesus was trying to make a point about our selfish motives in hosting lavish parties. Or, in this part of the world, big sit-down dinners with a ton of food and card tables set up everywhere to accomodate all the family and friends we've invited. Those of you raised in the South know exactly what I'm talking about. In my world it was called dinner at Grandmama's house.

Southern cooks have to out do themselves with quantity. Some folks have got to put on the ritz and make sure everything is fancy. For others it's all about the guest list. The really stressed people need to do all three. But are we doing it for others or for ourselves? Do we expect repayment in the form of invitations to the homes of our guests?

I don't think Jesus ever intended for us to never invite our friends and family over for dinner. He was just trying to remind us that we should be more focused on helping and doing for those who can never repay us. You know who I'm talking about. That elderly widow with no family close by and no place to go for Sunday dinner comes immediately to mind. I know it's a hassle to help her with her walker and, no, she doesn't hear really well. And it's unlikely she'll ever invite us to her house for dinner in return. But look at that smile and light in her eyes when she realized she's invited and you really want her to come. Isn't she worth the extra effort?

What about that family stationed nearby who are from another country? Ever invited them over to share a meal? Yeah, I know they don't believe things quite like we do. And they don't know Jesus as Savior either. But how are they ever going to understand what living a Christian life is all about if we never show them any of our Southern charm? When we reach out to others, we allow God to use us so others can see Him.

It's so easy to stay in our narrow world. We see the same people, go to the same places, fellowship with the same group. And, yes, we expect that each invitation will someday result in an invitation from the people we've invited. How much richer we would all be if we included people without any expectation other than sharing a meal and Christian fellowship with another of God's children.