Week of March 15

The rubric called “muscle memory” means we can reproduce a particular movement without using conscious thought. Frequent repetition makes this effort possible. Allow me to coin a phrase: moral memory. It means that we learn to respond to those around us like God has demonstrated with us. We must always keep God’s goodness to us in mind, and it is to be evident in how we treat those who are the weakest members of our communities. God provides Israel with practical ways of practicing justice in community. We also will notice quickly that God expects His people to respect the dignity of all humankind. Let’s learn from this passage today some ways we may demonstrate love for our neighbors.

Meet the need before you see it. Perfectionism, as I term it, should not be a goal during harvest time! The Israelites were to take “care not to pick the fields, orchards or vineyards clean,” but they were to leave some of the harvest behind that might have been overlooked (24:19). The Moabite Ruth comes immediately to mind, because the point was to provide a benefit for the alien, orphan, and widow (Ruth 2:2). This was not a handout; instead, it demonstrates a “beneficent” act directed toward those who were less fortunate. 

Respect the dignity of each human life. On one side of a coin the recipient was able to salvage his or her honor and the landowner, on the other side of the coin, was prevented from arrogant control of the less fortunate. Boaz went beyond the minimal requirement in helping the widow Ruth. He actually commanded the reapers to leave more than leftovers (2:15-16). A worthy goal in our own “Christian” nation should be to deliver the weakest from social and economic bondage.

Remove obstacles to meeting daily needs. Positive steps toward helping folks out of their dire circumstances begins by taking note of a core economic principle. Do not deprive a person of that which is necessary to earn a living. Work is a foundational good, enabling a person to maintain his or her dignity and to provide for the well-being of the family. Being able to work is a core goal for every person. We may ask ourselves if our attitudes or business practices deprive others of their rightful “basic life sustenance” (cf. 24:6). A millstone was the tool that helped people to grind the grain that fed their families. The “millstone” in our society is obviously meaningful employment. For example, how well does the Body of Christ provide training and assistance to those who need new job-skills in order to thrive in our economy?

Providing fair wages. Let’s set aside, for a moment, the minimum wage debates we read about in our culture. In Ancient Israel, wages were to be paid at the end of the day because a worker would be expected to cover his expenses (24:15). There was no “welfare state,” as we have come to know in our culture. If one did not work in those days, he or she would not eat. If you were not paid in our current culture, you would not eat either! To deny a person his or her wages would justify a cry for deliverance to be lifted to the Lord. In our passage today (Deut. 24:13), we have the example of an employer who was not providing the poor person with the money he or she needed to survive (24:15).

Moral need. 15.18 million households in the United States are headed by women. Nearly thirty percent of those households fall beneath the poverty level. Did you know that mothers with full-time jobs are paid just 73.5 cents for every dollar that is paid to fathers? The subsequent lack of good wage earnings, shelter, and food on the table is not only a gender issue, but a justice issue.

Those who know me will understand that I am not driving home a political point. Instead, I am diving deeply to a Christian application about care, based upon God’s own goodness shown toward us. The fact stated above illustrates the moral principle Moses makes in Deuteronomy 22. Contemporary single mothers and their children often go to sleep without food several nights each week because the main wage-earner does not make enough to provide for shelter and sustenance. A just God challenges our moral blindness to these types of need. Rather than wring our hands, a “love your neighbor as yourself” people will use their hands to address the need.

Moral memory. My family has been blessed in ways that go beyond description. We realize there are those who have never had the benefit of a strong family system, adequate housing, affordable and working transportation, education, financial backing, and recommendations for well-paying jobs. Here is one of several ways we seek to practice God’s goodness. It is our joy to provide support for a pregnancy center in our city. They recently sponsored a drive where supporters were encouraged to fill a plastic baby bottle with coins to help meet some of the support needs of pregnant women who often face severe housing, food, job, and transportation challenges. Shawna and I filled the bottle with a sizable donation when we paused and “moral memory” of God’s goodness came to our minds! We wrote a check that demonstrated our desire to give like God has given to us.

1. Jot down ways you express your gratitude for God’s help in your times of weakness and despair. Always live thankfully.

2. Write down the ways you seek to allay the hurts of the helpless. Perhaps it is an offering given, which is good, or a volunteer role at a crisis center. This, too, is good. Ask God to help you think of more ways that your gratitude (#1 above) may become a lifestyle of helping the helpless.

3. For Families: We can surely continue this application above to our own families and respond together to needs we know exist. Contact the community liaison of your Independent School District to see what needs there are among students and families, staff persons, like bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and janitors, or even teachers. Many of the latter groups are single parents and raising children. Your family could drop off groceries, or give grocery store gifts cards to help folks with food needs.

You could always volunteer with local ministries, serve in food distribution, transport elderly people to doctor office visits, help single moms with car repairs, or vote to pay a few dollars in taxes to build a community day-care center. All of these small things add up, both to practicing justice in your city and in building “moral muscle memory” in the lives of your children. It is good to use our hands to help others in the name of Jesus.

May your paths be straight,
Larry C. Ashlock