THY POOR BROTHER
‘If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother.’
Deuteronomy 15:7-8; Deuteronomy 15:11
I. ‘God has made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell upon the face of the whole earth.’—This is the announcement of a grand fact, which has never yet been successfully disproved. This relates man to man everywhere, makes all the world a neighbourhood, and founds upon universal affinity a universal claim. This general law, however, must be divided into minor modifications, or it will be practically useless. Hence all private affections are recognised and hallowed, and are indeed the sources from which all public virtues spring. We are bound to love our neighbour as ourselves, and if in a contracted Hebrew spirit you are inclined to press the inquiry, ‘And who is my neighbour?’ there comes a full pressure of utterance to authenticate and enforce the answer, Man.
II. The last clause of the text is as true to-day as in the time of its original utterance.—The poor shall never cease out of the land; in every age and in every clime there are distinctions of society in the world. Society could not cohere as a union of equals; there must be gradation and dependence. In the text benevolence to the poor is positively enjoined, and enjoined because of their abiding existence as a class of the community. Once recognise the relationship, and the claim will inevitably follow; the sense of service rendered and obligation created thereby will make that claim more sacred; and Religion, attaching her holiest sanction, lifts the recognition of the claim into a duty which may not be violated without sin.
III. ‘Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto Me.’—This is our Divinely furnished argument. ‘She hath done what she could.’ This is to be the measure of our giving.
Illustration
(1) ‘Freely we have received, let us freely give. The Hebrews were taught to live a generous, bountiful life, giving to him that asked, not turning away from him that borrowed, not exacting money which had been lent. They were not only to give because of the Divine law, but without compunction and reluctance, prompted by the spirit of love. “Thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest.” The open hand was to be sign of an open heart, and right behind this free bestowment of benefaction there lay the perpetual memory that God would bless them and give to them. Giving is also pre-eminently the Christian’s duty. We are meant to be channels, and not receptacles; God’s stewards, entrusted with wealth and talent and spiritual gift that we may pass them on.’
(2) ‘It is well for me that the poor never cease out of the land.
Let me imagine a world where all are strong and independent, requiring nothing and asking nothing. There is no sickness. There is no sorrow. Penury is absolutely unknown. There are no weaknesses and no fears. It is a thrice-blessed world, I am inclined to say. Ah, but let me stay a moment. There are many desirable qualities, many heavenly graces, which can have no dwelling-place at all within its borders.
What room can be found for the grace of tenderness, where everyone is “serene and resolute and still and calm and self-possessed”? What room can be found for the grace of trust, where everyone is rich and increased with goods and has need of nothing? What room can be found for the grace of gratitude, where none requires to give praise for blessing received and enjoyed? What room can be found for the grace of endurance, where happiness and comfort and unbroken prosperity and unruffled peace prevail from January to December?
My soul would grow hard when there was nothing but flowers and fruits, and silver and gold, and gladness and joy!’