Two beggars could teach us plenty |
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Neither one had any food, but the stream nearby was fast and cold, so they had risked drinking a little late last night. "You sick?" old Corky asked. "Nope? Then let's get us another swig of water before we start. Riverton is only six miles away." As they hiked along, Corky advised the runaway on the fine art of panhandling. "Nothin' to it, really," he admitted. "Just be polite. You start with the first house, knock on the door, and ask if you can do some chores for food. No luck there, you go to the next. Any Mickey Dee bags on the avenue, you look in to see if someone didn't eat all their fries. You spot someone walking their dog, you ask 'em for spare change. Simple." By the time the two were just halfway through town, their bellies were full, their pockets jingling. They didn't even mind when the sheriff hurried them through the second half. The Master taught we must stand before God as beggars. Not working-poor folks, but the not-a-penny, haven't-eaten-since-Friday kind of beggars. And what do beggars do? They ask, seek, knock! True, we are and deserve to be spiritual beggars. But God doesn't treat us like beggars. From the treasure trove of His grace He endows blessings on us as dearly beloved children. If beggars get their fill from asking, seeking, and knocking, what about us children of the King? We don't get more wisdom because we don't ask. We don't have more evangelistic studies when we don't seek. The golden door to serve our community for Jesus stays locked up when we don't knock. You know when we will start asking, seeking, and knocking? When we are hungry for it--as hungry as Jody and Corky. |
| —Steve Singleton DeeperStudy.com |
Want to go deeper?The Greek word group ptōch- ("poor, destitute") describes people who have nothing (e.g., the generous widow (Mark 12:42) and the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:20,22), but it can also denote people possessing spiritual poverty (Matt. 5:3). Paul uses it when speaking of both the Macedonian contributors (2 Cor. 8:2) and the recipients of their gracious gifts (Rom. 15:26). Jesus employs it when examining the paradox of having great financial need along with immense spiritual abundance (Rev. 2:9). James points out how God often selects the poor to be rich in faith (James 2:5). The contrast between physical need and spiritual riches is a big theme in the Bible that rewards any who devote study to it.
Everett L. Worthington Jr. Humility: The Quiet Virtue (2007). Being poor in spirit or humble is a virtue difficult to describe because of its paradoxical nature: claiming authority about humility and that one is humble both suggest a lack of humility. Everett L. Worthington, Jr. seeks a way around this paradox by looking to people considered humble by others: Jesus, Siddhartha, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and Martin Luther King Jr. He looks, too, at people whom he admires. He examines the characteristics of humility they share, and, in doing so, formulates a working understanding of humility. Science has made few attempts to measure humility, Worthington points out, which give a different, but complementary, perspective on humility than the wisdom of the ages. Humility may not be a skill we can learn, but people can be inspired to be humble. Quotations interspersed throughout the book reinforce the message that the unassuming virtue of humility transforms lives. Recommended for online reading: Thomas À Kempis. "Of Acknowledging our Unworthiness before God," book 3, chapter 9 of The Imitation of Christ (originally published in 1435, this edition in 1888). Those who recognize their spiritual need have prepared themselves to receive God's tremendous bounty. |
It wasn't hard to get up before sunrise. The night had been muggy, with mosquitoes buzzing about, plus they'd slept right on the ground. Jody thought he was stiffer than he should be at 16. But he was glad this old man had come along. He seemed to be someone he could trust, someone who knew the ropes.
