Proverbs 31:19-20
I’ve kinda been putting this post off for a few days. Not because I don’t want to write it or that I don’t know what to write, but because there’s so much to say about these two verses.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
While I believe that all of the verses I am sharing from Proverbs 31 are important, I feel very passionate about these two verses in particular.
I’ve already told you that she works with eager hands. You know that she works hard to meet her family’s needs. She makes sure they have good food to eat.
You also know that she is frugal.
She may be frugal, but she isn’t stingy. There is a difference between being stingy and being frugal. Being frugal is to be economical. Being stingy is simply being ungenerous. Just because you are trying to save money doesn’t mean you can’t give a little to help someone else.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
See, she works hard to provide for her family but she also puts in extra effort to help others. She holds the distaff and grasps the spindle. She makes things. Of course, as I’ve already told you, she makes things for her family. But, verse 20 shows us that she also makes things for others. Those who are in need.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.
Sometimes we get so caught up in doing good things for our families and friends, that we don’t take the time to do good things for those who really need us to.
Like I said, I’ve put this post off for a little bit. It’s because there are just so many people in our world who honestly need help right now that I know I just can’t list them all. It can be a little overwhelming at times.
Have you ever really thought about how many people are going hungry? Last year, that number was 925 million. Yes, million.
My heart aches at this thought.
As a mother, I cannot fathom having to watch my child go hungry, knowing there is nothing more I can do. Hunger and hunger-related illnesses are responsible for the deaths of approximately 5 million children each year. Absolutely heartbreaking.
Five million children. Five million. But for the grace of God, that could be my child. But for the grace of God, I could be living in poverty, watching my children, my family, my friends starve.
Do I believe that God has put me here, where I am now, in a free country with a roof over my head and a dependable job for my husband and all of my needs met so I can turn my head or turn off the television when I see something I don’t like to have to face – like someone in need? NOT FOR ONE SECOND!
Believe me, He hasn’t put you where you are now so that you can turn your head either.
You may say, “The problem is too big. What difference can I make?”
Have you heard the story of the little boy and the starfish? While you may not be able to save 925 million people from being hungry, if you can help just ONE, you will have made an enormous difference to that person.
There are many organizations out there who assist people in need. One of my favorites is World Vision.
A couple of years ago, while I was the youth leader at my church in Tennessee, I participated in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine. It is a really fun event for youth (and adults too!) that helps raise funds and awareness for hungry people, specifically children, all over the world. We held a lock-in at our church and fasted for 30 hours while completing service projects, reading devotions, praying, and playing games. It was an amazing weekend of fellowship. It was very eye-opening and heartbreaking.
The day after our fast, we held “Famine Sunday” at our church. We had someone volunteer to speak to our congregation about the work of World Vision and child sponsorship. He was a musician so he also provided musical entertainment for our service.
This is Juan. Our family became his sponsors during that Famine Sunday service. He is only a few months younger than Smarty and he and his family live in Bolivia. For $30 a month, we can help make sure that Juan gets to attend school and many of his family’s needs are being met. We write him letters and send him little packages with stickers and notepads (it has to fit in a 6×9 envelope). He and his family members write to us from time to time. We get a new photo of him each year. This photo is the most recent one.
Perhaps you would like to sponsor a child. Or maybe even a family. Please click here to learn more about their child sponsorship program and how you can make a difference in the life of a child.
Maybe you can’t or don’t want to commit to a monthly sponsorship pledge. Consider giving gifts from the World Vision Gift Catalog instead.
Let’s face it, most of our friends and family have everything they need and probably wish you’d quit buying them trinkets and “stuff” just for the sake of giving them a gift for their birthday or for Christmas. Instead of giving them some material thing that they don’t need (and maybe don’t even want), give a gift to someone in need in their honor.
Know someone who is having a baby? Why not give a New Mother and Baby Kit in her honor? For $77, you provide a bassinet, diapers, a blanket, a container for clean water, soap, and infant care training for the mother.
Mother’s Day? Mom’s birthday? There are lots of gifts that benefit mothers. There are gifts for dads and teachers and everybody else!
Maybe you don’t need to buy a gift in honor of someone. Maybe you are just concerned about the poor folks in the Horn of Africa. There are so many organizations right now trying to help out! World Vision, UNICEF, World Relief, and Food For The Hungry are just a few.
Maybe you are more concerned about the people right outside your own front door. In your community. In your state. In your country. That’s fine! Find a local charity to help out. Believe me, there are people everywhere who need help – even in your own neighborhood.
If there isn’t a local charity that reaches the people that you want to reach, consider starting your own!
This summer, several churches in my community wanted to feed children in some of the more “underprivileged” neighborhoods around here. Many of the children here receive free or reduced price lunches at school. Chances are, most of those kids don’t have much to eat at home – especially during the summer months. So, a group of people started meeting together to discuss how to go about feeding the kids. They got donations from some people and the Brown Bag Ministry was born! We started out small, just feeding the kids in one neighborhood. We gave out 50-70 lunches a day. By the end of summer, we were going to six neighborhoods and handing out nearly 800 lunches a week! We gave out over 5,000 lunches this summer! The kids and the parents were so appreciative and it was a huge blessing to everyone involved.
My point is this: We can’t just sit on our hands, waiting for someone else to make a move. We are all called to open our arms to the poor and extend our hand to the needy.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. – Philippians 2:4
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My heart goes out to all of the children in that diagram, too – I try to give to charity whenever I can, though, and I do what I can to help out in my neighborhood as well! That (and to pray) is all we really can do, right?
Kayla
That number is way to high – no one on this planet should be going hungry that – my heart goes out to all of them.