God is giving and explaining His
law to Moses in detail at Mount Sinai. And what is interesting to
note is that God is in favor of restitution, in other words
correcting a wrong and He is also concerned about people's well
being. Two things I would like to highlight today are the
following:
"Do not oppress foreigners in any
way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of
Egypt." Exodus 22:21
"Do not exploit widows and orphans.
If you do and they cry out to Me, then I will surely help them."
Exodus 22:22
God cares for everyone and hates it
when people are misused for their unfortunate position. Since we
live in a global world, where traveling is so easy, we find many
foreigners living amongst us. And we need to ask ourselves, how are
we treating them? Are we nice to them? Are we exploiting them and
misusing their desperate situation for our own gain? Or are we
forthcoming and try to help where we can? God wants us to be His
hands and feet towards them and help them to see His love in
action.
The same goes for widows. Now I
know today woman are able to work and to support themselves, it is
not dire straits for a widow like it was in Moses' day. But I think
it would be nice to reach out to those widows who either can't find
a work/ or to those widows who have enough money, but are extremely
lonely after their husband's passed away. Try to include them in
activities and help them where possible.
God has a special heart for orphans
too. As a Father, He knows how devastating it could be for poor
orphans. Try and reach out to them too, even if it is only by
donating to a foster home/ or by treating the orphans you do know
with the respect and dignity they deserve.
God cares for us all and He wants a
society where we care for one another too. That is why Jesus said
the biggest commandment is to love God with all your heart and all
your soul. And the second biggest commandment is to love your
neighbor. Let's make a renewed effort to look at those around us
with new eyes and to see them as valuable human beings, just like
God sees them.
We need to follow Paul's
advice:
"Don't think only about your own
affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are
doing." Philippians 2:4
Father, we are so guilty. Please
forgive us that we don't look at other people the way that You look
at them. Please help us to see them as You see them and to help
wherever You have placed it on our hearts. Thank you Lord. Amen