Daily Devotionals

The Biscuit Story

Posted in Stewardship/Giving

“Some people are always greedy for more, but the godly love to give.” (Proverbs 21:26) “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor,” (Proverbs 22:9)

 

EXCERPT FROM EUGENE PETERSON’S AS KINGFISHERS CATCH FIRE:  “Every time you love another in obedience to Christ’s command, you are educating someone else…. Every time you hope because Christ has promised His help, you are opening up new possibilities of growth in another person.” (Kingfisher, p. 192) 

 

When I was in the 1st or 2nd grade in Hopkins, SC, the school did not have a lunch program.  Our lunch was prepared at home and consumed at recess. A new student had enrolled sometime around mid-year.  His name I can’t recall.  His parents lived in a tenant house on someone’s farm.  The family was extremely poor from all outward signs.  

 

One day, we sat down next to each other on the front steps of the schoolhouse to eat our lunches.  Mine was in a tin lunch box, and his lunch was in a brown paper bag.

 

I’ve always been crazy about homemade biscuits and still am to this day.  On this occasion, my lunch was probably a peanut butter sandwich (on store bought bread).  He pulled two biscuits out of his bag.  That’s all he had.  I said something like, “Those biscuits sure look good.”  He looked at me and said, “Would you like to have one?”  That was one of the most sincere and kind offers ever made to me in 77 years on this earth.  How generous and unselfish of him.  

 

The question that lingers-  how are we kind and generous to others?  And when?

 

We don’t have to search very long for opportunities.  It can be a planned or spontaneous act of kindness– a smile, a few words, or holding a door open.  The cost to us?  A little time or effort, or as much as you care to give.

 

So we have the opportunity of making this choice many times each day.  To be kind or to be indifferent.  Are we focused on ourselves or on others?  The kind route will mean so much to the person, and the good feeling it evokes in them may last a lifetime!  It’s our choice.  

 

Looking back, I wonder, was the Holy Spirit on the steps with us while we had lunch together?  Think about it.

 

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, you have blessed us with the ability to pass on kind words or deeds to others.  Help us to surrender to You and turn from greed to giving.  Amen.

 

Submitted by Wehman Sieling