Life Hack #1 - Meet the Need

Life Hack #1:

Listen carefully to my wisdom; take to heart what I can teach you. You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within; you’ll give it bold expression in your speech. To make sure your foundation is trust in God, I’m laying it all out right now just for you. I’m giving you thirty sterling principles—tested guidelines to live by. Believe me—these are truths that work, and will keep you accountable to those who sent you. (Proverbs 22:17-21) 

The intention of learning these "Life Hacks" is that we make sure our foundation is a solid, committed trust in God. As you may have read, these "Life Hacks" actually will provide a foundation by which we will be held accountable for our actions. Uh oh, gone to meddling now! Scripture reminds us, "Don’t walk on the poor just because they’re poor, and don’t use your position to crush the weak, because God will come to their defense; the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them."  (Proverbs 22:22-23 MSG)

Our first "Life Hack" deals with the "poor" and the "weak" and our attitude toward them. God is asking us to examine our heart attitude - how we see ourselves in comparison to others and how we use that perception to either meet or ignore the needs of those around us. God's command to us is to love him first, then to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. How we view another in "comparison" to how we view ourselves can tell us a lot about our attitude of heart. If we see ourselves as more fortunate, better positioned, or even "above" another, we might just have some work which needs to be done in our hearts. No man or woman created by our heavenly Father has any better or worse "position" in God's eyes. We are all his creation - we all have needs - our needs just differ. To judge another by their "position" or their intensity of "need" is just not what God wanted any of us to do. Rather, he wants us to be sensitive to the needs of others - regardless of their "status" in this life.

We have an opportunity to meet that need, and in so doing, we are serving that individual as Christ would expect us to. When that need is outside of our ability to meet in the material, physical, or emotional sense, then we still have an opportunity and obligation to bring that need before the throne of God. There are varying degrees of being "poor" or "weak". Being "poor" simply means we are lacking in something we have need of - it could be material (such as finances), physical (such as a place to live), emotional (such as a friend to walk alongside us), or even spiritual (such as when we just need someone to help us connect with God on a matter). As scripture reminds us, to ignore the needs of anyone who has a "lack of what is needed" is to "walk on them". When we walk on another, we are treating them as though their need is beneath us - not important to us or to the Christian community at large.

We all have varying degrees of weakness - no one is entirely strong. We have an obligation to understand the areas of weakness another may struggle with in life - for only then may we step up to be an encouragement and a lifeline for their healing and recovery - spiritually, emotionally, or physically. We have "poor" and "weak" all around us and at times, the finger points back at us. Our attitude of heart is manifest in how well we interpret the need and our responsiveness to meet that need with whatever is within our ability. We are at least under an obligation to bring the need before God for his intervention. "Life Hack #1" deals with the sense of "community" we all need to build - not ignoring anyone within our influence. If we maintain a heart ready to reach out to those in need or just simply weak in some respect, we are standing ready to serve as Christ's ambassadors. This indeed is what will thrill the heart of God. Just sayin!

Break out the water

God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you! I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts. (Psalm 63:1)

Whenever we find ourselves in the midst of the "excesses" of life, we often crave what we most need to help us deal with the excess the best. So, we crave what we most need to deal with what we find ourselves enduring or living within! Sometimes we are "enduring" stuff by our own doing - like when I eat a huge bowl of Cheezits or eat a whole candy bar. The sodium from one and the sugar from the other just cause me to "crave" the very thing which will help my body deal with the excess of sodium or sugar - water, movement, and something a little more sensible. Take a look at some of the things that develop a more "spiritual" craving within you and you may just be surprised at how much you have been 'craving' because you are deficient in those very things.

Here we are presented with an example of traveling across dry and weary deserts as a source of both intense hunger and thirst. We all have them - deserts of sorts - making us intensely hungry and thirsty, but do we know what we hunger and thirst for in those desert places? We may live in the greenest parts of the world, but we endure deserts! The desert of loneliness has cravings all its own doesn't it? We may find ourselves suddenly without familiar acquaintances. Perhaps it is the result of a move to a new job place, the loss of a spouse, or the lack of solid friends we can pour our hearts out to when we most need it. We find ourselves enduring a sense of deep loneliness. At the core of loneliness is the idea of being without a companion in the journey. This desert may be labeled a place of isolation - whether you wanted it or not, you are isolated. In the place of isolation we find ourselves without the people or things we have found ourselves relying on in the past. As we examine the purpose of this "loneliness" desert, we might find it hard to imagine a "good" purpose! Being isolated is definitely NOT God's plan for us humans - he made us specifically to "relate" to others, not to be alone. So, what "good" comes out of this desert?

I can only share some of the things having come out of my times of being on a journey in this "loneliness" desert. I have learned I actually NEED other people. There is nothing more revealing about our "dependence" on the feedback of others, the sense of hope rendered in a simple touch, or the enjoyment of a good laugh, than to be isolated and alone. We need connection. In fact, believe it or not, we crave it! I believe God may actually allow some of us to walk this desert to draw us closer to those he has given in our lives. You know the saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder"? I think it is realized the most in the desert of loneliness! God's lessons to you may be a little different, but if you will allow him to speak to you in your desert, he will reveal the lessons!

The desert of despair seems to be walked frequently by some. This is a most difficult desert to face. It is one in which we have lost hope - we are without any sense of things ever getting better. In this desert, we often find ourselves out so far on the limb, the weight of our burden so great, hearing the cracking of the limb as it strains to keep us upright. We are "stuck" - we cannot go further out on the limb or turn back. This is indeed a most difficult desert to cross. Yet, the most hopeless place is often the place our faith begins to take flight! In the desert of despair, we begin to look for solutions we often ignore when things are smooth sailing. Things like intimate prayer with our Maker - pouring out our hearts to him with eager desperation. In the moment of despair, don't we often find ourselves looking back to God? Did you catch that? We are looking "back" to God! It is an amazing thing, but despair often drives us back to God - maybe even without ever recognizing just how comfortable we had become without him!

The desert of brokenness is almost as hard to endure. The very thing we need in this desert is the very thing we have absolutely no ability to accomplish on our own. It is only by the restorative and regenerating touch of our God we cross safely through this desert. We may be "broken" by a whole lot of things - bad relationships, words that have left us scarred, or just a series of bad choices which resulted in us being "undone" by life. In the desert of brokenness, we need "repair", don't we? What we drink the most freely of in this desert is God's grace. It is indeed a refreshing and restorative "drink". The purpose of any desert is to cause us to hunger and thirst. Hunger for the best, thirst for what will refresh truly. We may have a lot of desert-crossing experiences in our days on this earth. No desert is without hunger or thirst of some kind. What we do with the hunger or thirst determines the outcome of the desert-crossing! Just sayin!

Principle 1: The Poor and Weak Cannot Be Ignored

Wouldn't it be nice if someone gave us a list of principles to incorporate into our lives which would help us to walk uprightly and consistently find favor in the eyes of God?  Well, guess what - Solomon did that for us!  He gave us a list of 30 principles to guide us along the way.  Here is what he had to say as he introduced them:   Listen carefully to my wisdom; take to heart what I can teach you.  You’ll treasure its sweetness deep within; you’ll give it bold expression in your speech.  To make sure your foundation is trust in God, I’m laying it all out right now just for you.  I’m giving you thirty sterling principles—tested guidelines to live by.  Believe me—these are truths that work, and will keep you accountable to those who sent you.  (Proverbs 22:17-21 MSG) Now, if someone is willing to take the time to outline these principles for us with the intention of making sure our foundation is trust in God, doesn't it seem like we should probably explore these principles and see how we can incorporate them into our lives?  In fact, when we begin to outline these for ourselves, we find they will provide a foundation by which we will be held accountable for our actions.  Now, that is something we all need!

Don’t walk on the poor just because they’re poor, and don’t use your position to crush the weak, because God will come to their defense; the life you took, he’ll take from you and give back to them.  (Proverbs 22:22-23 MSG)

Principle number one deals with the "poor" and the "weak" and our attitude toward them.  It seems odd that Solomon would start with how we deal with the poor and the attitude of heart we truthfully have toward their need, but if we examine this one closely, we might just see this as an appropriate place to begin.  He is pointing us toward our heart attitude - how we see ourselves in comparison to others and how we use that perception to either meet or ignore the needs of those around us.  God's command to us is to love him first, then to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.  How we view another in "comparison" to how we view ourselves can tell us a lot about our attitude of heart.  If we see ourselves as more fortunate, better positioned, or even "above" another, we have some work which needs to be done in our hearts. No man or woman created by our heavenly Father has any better or worse "position" in God's eyes.  We are all his creation - we all have needs - our needs just differ.  To judge another by their "position" or their intensity of "need" is just not what God wanted any of us to do.  Rather, he wants us to be sensitive to the needs of others - regardless of their "status" in this life.

When we see another's need as something we have an opportunity to meet, we are serving that individual as Christ would expect us to.  When that need is outside of our ability to meet in the material, physical, or emotional sense, then we still have an opportunity and obligation to bring that need before the throne of God on behalf of that individual.  There are varying degrees of being "poor" and / or "weak".  Being "poor" simply means we are lacking in something we have need of - it could be material (such as finances), physical (such as a place to live), emotional (such as a friend to walk alongside us), or even spiritual (such as when we just need someone to help us connect with God on a matter).  To ignore the needs of anyone who has a "lack of what is needed" is to "walk on them" as scripture puts it.  When we walk on another, we are treating them as though their need is beneath us - not important to us or to the Christian community at large.

We all have varying degrees of weakness, as well.  To ignore another's weakness is to open many a door to issues within our community.  For example, if I know your weakness to be a struggle with alcohol and I continually offer you a glass of wine when we dine together, I am being insensitive to your area of weakness in your life.  You may be in the process of being redeemed from your struggle with alcohol, but my insensitivity to your "former" area of weakness is really showing an attitude of being uncaring.  We have an obligation to understand the areas of weakness another may struggle with in life - for only then may we step up to be an encouragement and a life-line for their healing and recovery.

Yes, we have "poor" and "weak" all around us and at times, the finger points at us, as well.  Our attitude of heart is manifest in how well we interpret their need and our responsiveness to meet that need if it is within our ability.  If not, then we are at least under an obligation to bring their need before God for his intervention.  What Solomon starts with is the sense of "community" we all need to build - not ignoring anyone within our influence.  If we maintain a heart ready to reach out to those in need or just simply weak in some respect, we are standing ready to serve as Christ's ambassadors.  This indeed is what will thrill the heart of God.  Just sayin!