"She opens her hand to the poor and
reaches out her hands to the needy."
Proverbs 31:20
Who is internationally recognized as being very kind and generous towards the poor and the needy? Is there someone you know personally who is very generous towards others?
Did Mother Theresa, Princes Diana or even Opera come to mind for the reputation of being very kind? Was it your mother, sister, mother-in-law, friend, neighbor or someone at church that you thought about?
Let us get to the bottom of this verse to find out who is practicing Biblical kindness to the poor and needy and lets make sure that we are being kind to others in the way that the Lord will have us do.
Dissecting the verse:
Proverbs 31:20 is a very straightforward verse. It means simply what it states. The Godly woman will be found giving to the poor. I would like to look at the following two words: "open" and "reaches".
"OPEN": This is stated in the dictionary as being frank and communicative and not given to deception or concealment. To apply this to our verse, our hand must be open, not closed. Our hand must give without wanting anything in return. Our open hand must be an honest one, not one with alterer motives. When opening our hand, we do it quietly as we see the need arise, we are not clapping them together to be noticed.
"REACHES": This is stated in the dictionary to stretch out an arm in a specific direction. The act of stretching your arm in a specific direction means that there is a planned action to reach for something specific. The action of reaching is done over a distance, there is required thought, action and effort involved.
From our study of the Proverbs 31 woman we have noticed that the woman does ensure that her family has had their needs met. This verse would be an over flow from meeting her families needs to meeting the needs of the poor.
After meditating on this verse, I have discovered that there are two groups of people that fall under the poor and needy category. They are Christians and people who do not know Christ as their saviour.
MERCY WORK TOWARDS OTHER CHRISTIANS
Let us read about what Jesus said will happen at the final judgement:
And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." Then the righteous will answer him saying, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?" And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
Matthew 25:33-40
We can see so much from these verses. Firstly, I must tackle the first issue.
Salvation by works
Salvation is a gift from God. It can not be earned in any way at all. We also do not keep our salvation by works. From Matthew 25, we see that the sheep were not amazed by the fact that they were put on the Kings right side. Why? They had received assurance of their salvation before hand. It is the fact that the King calls them blessed because of their good works. This shows that the sheep were not doing the good works in order to be saved but were doing the good works as a fruit of being saved. This clearly shows their motive for good works were not to earn salvation.
What are the good works that are commend by the King?
1. "I was hungry and you gave me food" Matthew 25:35 (food to the hungry)
2. "I was thirsty and you gave me drink" Matthew 25:35 (drink to the thristy)
3. "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" Matthew 25:35
(open person & home)
4. "I was naked and you clothed me" Matthew 25:36 (clothes, blankets etc)
5. "I was sick and you visited me" Matthew 25:36 (visiting and medicine)
6. "I was in prison and you came to me" Matthew 25:36
(supporting the persecuted for the faith)
Why we must do the above mentioned acts of charity
The most important reason is that Christ has carried out the exact things for us! Let have a look at these amazing parrelles to the points in the previous paragraph:
1. We were hungry and Jesus said "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry" (John 6:35)
2. We were thirsty and Jesus said "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink." (John 7:37)
3. We were strangers and it is written "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of you evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death" (Col. 1:21-22a)
4. We were dressed in filthy rags (sin) and the Lord clothed us in robes of righteousness, "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 13:14)
5. Our souls were sick with sin, Jesus came, "Healing every disease and sickness" (Matt. 4:23).
6. Jesus frees us from sin, sets the captive free, "proclaim freedom for the prisoners" (Luke 4:18)
Who must we be opening our hands to and reaching out to?
Our question is answered in the following passage:
".....Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of
the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
Matthew 25:40
It is clear that we need to open and reach out to those who are in need, our brothers and sisters in Christ.
MERCY WORKS TOWARDS THE UNSAVED
Should we then show kindness towards the unsaved poor and needy people? Of course! The motive will be slightly different in this case. You should use the opportunity of helping the poor and needy to share the gospel with them. This is very important. Many people do "good things", such as Opera, but it is all pointless in eternity as the gospel is not given. Do not misunderstand me, the poor and needy need help physically, but their eternal destination is far more important. On the flip side, we should not give the gospel and leave someone to freeze in the cold or starve to death. Physical needs must be seen to as well.
SUMMARY
I would say that the godly woman in Proverbs 31:20 would be showing kindness to her brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need. She would be building relationships with them to discover physical needs and also spiritual needs and would be by Gods Grace seeing that the needs are met. She would also be reaching out to strangers as she understands the need for them to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet their physical needs.
WHEN THE GODLY WOMAN BECOMES A WIDOW
Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty years of age, having been the wife of one husband, and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted and has devoted herself to every good work.
1 Timothy 4:9,10
This verse show how important it is to be involved in helping the poor and needy. If you find yourself as a widow with no family left, the church would then see to your care. See the qualifications for a godly woman in this verse:
*having a reputation for good works
*brought up children
*shown hospitality
*washed the feet of the saints
*cared for the afflicted
*devotion to good works
CONCLUSION
Let us be woman who are open handed to the poor and who reach out to the needy. Who are concerned not only for physical well being but also for others spiritually. Let our testimony of a devotion to good works cause others to praise the Lord and cause them to give thanks. Let our good works cause people to look past us and to our saviour, Jesus Christ. Remember that we are reflecting how the Lord has served us and we are to serve others to please the Lord and not men.
HEART PROBING QUESTIONS by Elizabeth George
1. This womans heart is involved too. The verbs "extends" and "reaches out" suggests that her giving stretches as far as her means will allow. What do these scriptures tell us that God desires to be at the core of our hearts?
-Deuteronomy 15:7-8
-Proverbs 11:25
-Proverbs 19:17
-Proverbs 22:9
-Micah 6:8
2. How do these "Sisters in Mercy" encourage you to a greater heart of kindness and compassion?
-The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16)
-The Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:8-11)
-Dorcas (Acts 9:36-39)
Written By Natalie Rogers
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