Roadblocks:
Closed Ears
#39 in the Series: Daddy, It's Me--Conversations of an Ordinary Person
with an Extraordinary Heavenly Father
As I was researching
roadblocks to hearing from God, I came across this one that was a bit of a
surprise to me:
“Whoever shuts their ears to the
cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.”
Proverbs 21:13 NIV
I knew that God
wants us to help the poor, widows and orphans but I did not realize there were
such dire consequences if we did not!
““This is what the Lord Almighty
said: ‘Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do
not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. Do not plot
evil against each other.’ “But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they
turned their backs and covered their ears. They made their hearts as hard as
flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the Lord Almighty
had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the Lord Almighty was
very angry. “ ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would
not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
Zechariah 7:9-13 NIV
In addition to being
hard hearted toward our fellow man, lack of generosity also shows our contempt
for the Lord.
“Whoever oppresses the poor
shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”
Proverbs 14:31 NIV
“Whoever mocks the poor shows
contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished.”
Proverbs 17:5 NIV
In contrast there
are wonderful promises to those who do obey the command to be generous to those
less fortunate:
“Whoever is kind to the poor
lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”
Proverbs 19:17 NIV
“Whoever gives to the poor will
not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.”
Proverbs 28:27 ESV
“He has distributed freely; he
has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted
in honor.”
Psalms 112:9 ESV
“Whoever despises his neighbor
is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.”
Proverbs 14:21 ESV
Next time you see
that homeless person or hear about a need of your neighbor or about some area
struck by disaster ask the Lord what he would have you to do. Listen for his answer. Then obey. Let your generosity open the lines of
communication to our Holy God and set your feet on the path of freedom for your
mustang heart.
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Teri