Craig Thomas

Psalm 112 is a short psalm that brings two especially important thoughts to my mind that I shall briefly develop.  First, verse 1 pronounces the righteous man as “blessed”:

“ 1 Praise the Lord!

Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,

Who delights greatly in His commandments.”

I was raised in a home where neither of my parents were Christians.  My parents were very worldly-minded people.  They drank alcohol and smoked cigarettes.  They would otherwise be considered “good citizens” but they had no affinity for God nor did they ever darken a church-house door.  I was raised in an atmosphere where God was viewed as one who sought to deny people the “good” or “fun” things in life.  I spent my formative years buying into that false narrative.

Nothing could be further from the truth!  Sin in its every form, whether man classifies it as major (e.g., murder, theft, adultery) or minor (e.g., social drinking, mild cursing, smoking); is corrosive, destructive, and causes misery (Rom. 6:23).  John tells us “His [God's] commandments are not burdensome” (1 Jn. 5:3).  God's commandments are not designed to steal away the joy of life.  The exact opposite is true!  They are designed to help us enjoy life to the fullest!  I witnessed my parents go through plenty of misery due to sin.  For example, they were both chain smokers and suffered horribly from it.  My mother died at the tender age of fifty-one due to lung cancer.  My father's last fifteen years of life were spent in total misery as he suffered from congestive heart failure and COPD; all brought on and exacerbated from a lifetime of cigarette smoking.  Thankfully, my mother obeyed the gospel a year before her untimely death.  Sadly, my father never came to the Lord.  I'm certain if you could talk with them now, they would not consider the Lord's commandments “burdensome.”

A second thought the psalm expresses that I want to briefly explore is in verses 5 and 9:

“ 5 A good man deals graciously and lends;

He will guide his affairs with discretion.”

“ 9 He has dispersed abroad,

He has given to the poor;

His righteousness endures forever;

His horn will be exalted with honor.”

I truly fear many otherwise faithful Christians will be lost because they fail to discharge their responsibility to share their blessings with the less fortunate.  Sadly, many Christians seem to believe that when they have placed their contribution into the offering plate at Sunday services, they have fulfilled that responsibility.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  It is certainly true that every Christian has an obligation to give of their means to support the work of the local church (cf. 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8 & 9).  However, that is only the beginning.  Every Christian has a huge individual responsibility to the less fortunate (cf. Lk. 10:30-37).  When we have the means and opportunity, we are obligated to help the less fortunate.  John says (1 Jn. 3:17):

“But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

The answer to that rhetorical question is obvious!  To be a faithful Christian we must be in the “sharing business” (Heb. 13:16; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 6:18).  Our willingness to share God's blessings with others will be one of the criteria by which the Lord will judge us (Matt. 25:31-46).  Jesus said that when we share with others it is as if “you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40).  Whether intentionally through greed and avarice, or unintentionally through apathy and neglect; when we fail to share with others, Jesus said it is as if “you did not do it to Me” (Matt. 25:45).  If we are part of the former group our eternal destiny will be “eternal life” (Matt. 25:46).  Sadly, if we are part of the latter group our eternal destiny will be “everlasting punishment” (Matt. 25:46); it will be “the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).

What have you done lately to help someone in need?  Where do you plan to spend eternity?