A TIMELESS INVESTMENT EVERY GOOD CHRISTIAN MUST HAVE

Serving human needs are very important to God’s heart as Proverbs 19:17 says: He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given. Here is perhaps the clearest identification of God Himself with the plight of the poor. The help they are given becomes God’s own debt to the giver. To help the needy is so important to God, that He associates Himself with the poor by taking their needs personally.

He promises to repay those who care about the marginalized and show kindness to the poor. Psalm 41:1-3 says: Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him on his bed of illness; You will sustain him on his sickbed. Poor: that is, poor in health, the weak and gaunt (Gen. 41:19). It is our obligation to shelter a homeless family, befriend a frightened stranger, visit a despondent prisoner, feed a hungry child etc Christians are summoned to do these not only by words but in deeds. The Lord Himself will repay us not necessarily with wealth and comfort, but with the honor of reflecting His character by sacrifice we make on behalf of the poor.

HOW TO AVOID AND OVERCOME BITTERNESS AS A CHRISTIAN

What Is Bitterness?

Bitterness can be defined as "an intense, deep-seated feeling of resentment, indignation, and ill-will against someone or something which we feel has committed an insult, injustice, or offense against us." It is an emotional response which results from failing to properly deal with feelings of personal outrage, anger, unforgiveness, and contempt. More so, is a condition which can arise when we fail to adequately resolve feelings of personal injury such as being humiliated, offended, unfairly treated, slighted, misunderstood, misused, misinterpreted, wronged in some way, or having our rights violated or ignored.

What Does Bitterness Do To Christians?

Bitterness is like a festering sore (Quote: CEI). It is a cancerous condition which can consume us with ill-will, negativity, slander, fault-finding, criticism, complaining, and an argumentative spirit. The Bible compares bitterness to a "root" and declares that many have been "defiled" by it (Heb.12:15). The scriptures speak of a "root of bitterness" because its potential effect upon our lives can be as widespread and entangle our life. When bitterness is allowed to take root, it becomes an increasingly deadly and destructive problem which chokes every area of our existence. If left unchecked, it will completely contaminate us and eventually undermine our relationship with God, spell spiritual shipwreck, and seriously damage our relationships with even our closest loved ones and friends.