Duties of the Christian
Key Verses: 2, 8, 13,
We are to be Christ-like to strangers and those who can’t fend for themselves. Remember, this was written in the day before LaQuinta and Motel 6. If you were traveling, you had to rely on the kindness of strangers, or you slept out in the open, vulnerable to the elements and attack. Prisoners in that day didn’t get three squares, a bed, internet, medical care and a college education. They often didn’t get any food unless someone from the outside brought it to them. We are to continue the example of compassion laid out in Scripture. The least are in need of our lives.
I think the next two admonitions are connected to caring for the least. If marriage is not honored, and we don’t take care of vulnerable women, they might end up as prostitutes out of desperation. Our tight grip on money can prevent us from helping as God calls us to help. But the Lord promises to take care of us, so we don’t need to be worried about our finances.
It is important for us to be able to have godly examples in our lives. We need to see “Jesus with flesh on” in those who lead us in our spiritual journey. I want someone who doesn’t just know the Scriptures. I want someone who lives them. I want and need consistency. We don’t need to chase the latest fad in spiritual teaching. “If it’s new, it isn’t true.” I wonder how many people have lost their life’s savings on Facebook stock? Or made it on Apple stock?
All of life is temporary, passing away. As believers we sometimes have to face rejection by those around us. Remember that Jesus was rejected and abandoned by those closest to Him. He suffered alone. He was branded a criminal and punished as the vilest of them. We might have to follow Him in being rejected. We might find ourselves on the outside of what is accepted, politically correct. We may get branded with our society’s mark of the vilest: intolerant. But if we do, we join with other faithful men and women down through history and proclaim that we are strangers in this world, traveling without a home, dependent on another for our spiritual lifeblood.
The Arnold Journey 