I have a fuzzy memory of being in Toronto many years ago and hearing someone say, "Love is seeking the highest good of others at your own expense." I wish the memory would come into clear focus so I could give proper credit to whoever said this because it has become one of my favorite personal quotes and a foundation for decision making.
I had shared it recently with a friend who seemed to regard that definition with some skepticism and only replied, "I'll have to think about that." I can see why it would be easily misunderstood if your reference for the concept of expense lay primarily in the monetary catagory.
But in the spiritual catagory the cross is the supreme example of this principle. God sought our highest good--forgiveness and eternal life--at his own expense by sacrificing his only Son. Since I cannot die for anyone's sins, how can I practice this principle?
I John 3:16
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his live for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Approaching every need we see with a desire to help someone spiritually gives us a whole new context from which to assess our responsibility in individual situations. The idea is not to give money to the poor until they are rich and we are poor, but to give them the best shot at knowing the will of God. That may mean sharing our faith with them. It may mean just giving them a meal. It may mean contributing to non-profits or agencies that assist with needs beyond an individual's ability to help (HOPE WW comes to mind).
When we encounter beggars on the street, we cannot always accurately judge whether our gifts are received by people whose unfortunate circumstances are beyond their control or whether they have chosen an unhealthy dependence on the benevolence of others. What we do know is that Jesus counsels us to be genereous and to give without expecting anything in return.
Luke 6:30
Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.
On a bitterly cold night in London last week, my granddaughter and I ascended from the tube to find two homeless beggars sitting bundled in blankets on the icy ground. We passed them without putting any coins into their outstretched hands. Instead, we went into a nearby store and purchased food and took it back to them.
Was that their highest need? Not completely, but it gave them a glimpse of kindness and perhaps another day to come to know God. Might it have been in their best interests for us to have given them our hotel room for the night? I cannot know. Should we have given them money instead? Perhaps. Should we have offered them our Bibles or quoted scripture to them? Who can know for sure? In their situation, what would I have hoped someone would do for me? It was not in my power to change their circumstances for the long range. But sometimes we do nothing because we know we cannot do enough.
Matthew 7:12
So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you....
What would those beggars have had us do for them? From immediate appearances, they'd have wanted us to give them money. (Acts 3:2-8) Maybe they'd have rather had our hotel room than a sandwich. Surely they wanted our compassion put into some kind of helpful action. The things people want are not always the things they most need. But what was their highest good? Only God can use our inadequate gifts to accomplish great good in the lives of others.
Seeking the highest good of others--will we hit the mark every time? Certainly not, but it is still my favorite guideline for what to do living in a needy world. Not everyone is poor, but everyone is needy.
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