Clean your plate, we’re told.
Or as grandmothers once said, “Use it up, wear it out. Make it do or do without.”
It means that nothing can be wasted.
Yet, the Word in Deuteronomy 24:19-21 (NIV) says:
“When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.”
Is this a recipe for careless living? For being careless with what the Lord has gifted into our lives? What about being a good steward with the things of God?
And our churches? Should we now throw our budgets out the window? Say, “Waste not, want not, bah! The Word says otherwise.”?
Nah, that’s not it. Rather, look at the last line in this passage.
“Leave what remains for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow.”
That doesn’t mean to leave food on our plate or toss our money in the street, and it certainly doesn’t mean we can carelessly spend without considering our budget. That’s irresponsible.
What we must do is leave a little cash in our accounts, a little time in our schedule, a little compassion in our hearts for those less fortunate than ourselves.
Then give it away. To the church. To charity. To the man at the corner with the homeless sign at his feet. Then we have truly used it up. We’ve worn it out. We’ve made it do, and no one must do without.
The love of Christ is revealed through our generosity to those around us who are in need.
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