To the Rescue

(Proverbs 3:27-30 KJV)  Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.  Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.  Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee.  Strive not with a man without cause, if he have done thee no harm.

As I write we are seeing Hurricane Harvey moving east and diminishing in power.  Out in the Atlantic the guys wanting a piece of the fame are predicting another moving toward the east coast of the United States.  In Texas we are seeing the results of this passage being applied without even thinking about it.  We see people being neighbors in the best sense and being individuals in the worst sense.

If you paid attention at all you saw all the people who spontaneously responded to the needs around them.  They dug out their boats and started rescuing people.  In our area which only had some high rain and winds they began loading up 18 wheelers with food and water.  It is the response of a Christian nation that does not “withhold” (4513) “good” (2896b).  What makes this giving what is “due” (1167)?  They are in need.  I even heard stories of people who lost everything along the coast who went north to help pull others out of the flood.  Jesus smiled.

Then you have those in verse 29 who are out to harm others.  Some of it is obvious.  The looters are out.  Some people think first about taking advantage.  On a more subtle level we have the gas lines in our area.  There is plenty of gas, or there would be if people didn’t panic.  I read that the stations are selling 2 ½ times as much gas as normal.  Why?  Because people start filling up everything so they will be taken care of.  If everyone would just relax and think of others there would be no gas lines.

So?  We have the good and the bad.  I don’t need to guess which group is acting the way God expects us to act.  I pray that in a crisis I will chose wisely.