Response Required

Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.

The godly always give generous loans to others, and their children are a blessing. – Psalm 37:25 & 26

Now, to be quite honest, I cannot imagine living in a place on this earth where we never see the godly abandoned or see no children begging for food. However, it appears to have been the case during David’s rule (or at the very least, for a period of time during his rule).

Digging Deeper
I am/was curious about what David meant when he wrote these verses? I checked out the Bible notes and they discussed the fact that during David’s rule when the Israelites were

obedient, food [was] available for everyone.”

However, when Israel

forgot God, the rich took care of themselves only, and the poor suffered (Amos 2:6, 7).”

All of this provides two good reminders for me. Remember God and remember others. Like any other endeavor in my life, it is either more difficult or completely futile to rely solely on myself to produce results. This includes Christian activities such as serving others, taking care of my family, or discipling others. My relationship to God provides me with fuel I need to carry out my daily activities.

The second reminder is also important. Remembering others is crucial in my faith walk. Why? Because serving others is one of the outward signs of my Christian heart; helping others helps me show others the inward development I am experiencing. With that said, it is not all about me. So, remembering others is also valuable because it lessens the stress, pain, hurt, pressure, or depression other people may be experiencing at any given moment. Remembering others allows me to be an an avenue for God’s blessings to pour out.

The Cliff’s Notes Version
In God’s plan to help hardheads like me, all of the above is condensed for easy reading/remembering. It is as follows:

‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40

So, what are you doing to remember God and others? Hmm, then again, what am I doing?