Meeting Tangible Needs

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, neighbors in small towns across America organized informal "penny auctions" to save family farms from foreclosure. When a bankrupt family’s farm  went up for auction, the local neighbors would gather, agree not to bid against each other, and buy back the land and equipment for pennies on the dollar. Then they would return everything to the original owner. They took action to care well for their neighbors in a practical and tangible way. This reminds me of an experience I had in war-torn Liberia, West Africa. Many people there wrestled with having enough food, but they had a wonderful saying…if one person has a bag of rice in our village, we all have a bag of rice. That type of practical care for one another is exactly what Jesus meant when He affirmed that we are called to “love our neighbor as ourselves.”

I agree with Dr. Gary Chapman, who says, “Love is a choice you make everyday." I also believe it is an action, not just a feeling. Love should be practical, tangible, and timely. It goes beyond saying, “Let me know if you need anything.” It means doing something. Proverbs warns us against procrastinating good to our neighbors. We are told, "Do not say to your neighbor, 'Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it'—when you have it with you." (Proverbs 3:28 ESV) In other words, he is saying, “What are you waiting for?” True biblical neighborliness rejects delay, providing practical help when a need arises. 

This type of action does not wait for an invitation. We have no indication that the man in the story of the good Samaritan ever asked for help. We know three individuals saw the need for help, and one responded immediately, setting aside his agenda and comfort for the sake of the other. I cannot get out of my mind the blood on the good Samaritan's clothes as he lifted the beaten and broken man onto his donkey. In a time without cell phones, what did the good Samaritan’s wife think about him not coming home on time that night, or coming home with an empty wallet? In the end, we are called to show Jesus to our neighbors. Jesus showed that He was willing to be interrupted in order to meet tangible needs. 

I love the story of the paralytic, whose friends tore open the roof above where Jesus was teaching. Jesus did not rebuke them for making a mess or harming the roof. When He saw the determination of the men who lowered the paralyzed man through the roof, His initial response was to say, "Friend, your sins are forgiven!" Then He said,“‘I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.’ And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen extraordinary things today.’” (Luke 5:24b-26 ESV) I love their reaction to the immediate response of Jesus. He chose to meet a need instead of overthinking it, like some of us might have the tendency to do.

While I doubt you will need to do a “penny auction” any time soon, when a neighbor asks to borrow a tool, needs help moving a heavy object, or experiences a sudden emergency, say yes immediately if you have the means! Act right away rather than putting it off for a more convenient time, and see what happens! 

Expectantly, 

Shawn