Several
years ago, I wrote a blog about serving your generation based on Paul’s description
of David when He served His generation while reigning as King of Israel. At the
time of the blog, I couldn’t find any suggestions about how to serve your
generation, but now I feel the need to give some practical suggestions based on
the scriptures. There are some things that we can do to serve our generation
for the purpose and glory of God above. One of those suggestions is from Jesus
himself in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Mathew 25:31-46. Jesus
talked in the parable about seating on His throne with sheep in His right hand
and goats on His left hand. He told the sheep on His right hand that they are
blessed and will be led into the kingdom of God with everlasting life because
they feed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, clothed the naked, took care
of the sick, and visited the people in prison. These were the righteous, and
they told the LORD that they didn’t know that they were doing it to Him, and He
said this: ”Truly I tell you, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for
Me.”. These little things for the little people in Christ gave a big impact on
them and Christ, and that helped to serve them. These little things give a big
reward to eternal life. Not doing these things leads to death as Jesus said
about the goats on the King’s left hand.
Little
things can do great things. In 1 Samuel 25, David sent his young men to Nabal,
Abigail’s husband, to ask for food and drink for his men because they protected
Nabal’s servants as they were shepherding the sheep. Nabal reviled them; they
left empty handed. This little insult made a big impact on David because he
told his men to gird on their swords as he did the samething: he planned to
kill all the males in Nabal’s house. When David’s young men left Nabal, Nabal’s
servant’s told his wife, and she made haste to prepare food and wine for David
and his men. She left with the supplies on donkeys—not telling her husband. She
finally reached David as he was approaching Nabal’s house, and told him that
her husband’s insult should be blamed on her. Abigail reassured David that he’ll
be king of Israel, and convinced him not to take vengeance with his own hand: this
persuaded David to heed her voice, and leave Nabal’s family alone. This little
thing that Abigail did saved the lives of her family and servants. When Nabal
learned about what happened the next morning, He became as a stone and after
ten days, the LORD struck him, so he died. When that happened, Abigail became
David’s wife: one of two wives. This example in David’s life was a little thing
that made a big impact on people’s lives, and little things can lead to other
blessings in the lives of your neighbors, family, and friends.
Another
little thing that you can do is in Micah 6:8 which says: “He
hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord
require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with
thy God?” This little thing can do great things in people’s lives. How
do you do justly in your life? Simple: it’s in Isaiah 1:17, which says: “Learn to
do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for
the widow.” God told us to defend those who are less fortunate than yourself:
to plead for them and to relieve them of their distresses. Jesus did this all
the time in His ministry when He healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the
dead, and gave sight to the blind as well as other miracles to help those oppressed
by the devil. Will you not do the samething?
Another little thing
is to love mercy, and part of that is to be merciful to the poor among us.
Solomon said in proverbs 19:17: “He that is gracious unto the
poor lends unto the LORD; and his good deed will He repay unto him.” People
with riches rule over the poor as was stated in proverbs 22:7, and in proverbs
14:31, it says: “He that oppresseth the poor blasphemeth his Maker; but he that
is gracious unto the needy honoureth Him.” People who are merciful, and give to
the poor will be blessed by God; even if you just have a minimum wage job, you
are still more blessed in America then in other countries in the world. You can
still give a little amount for a big impact in other countries. Jesus said in Mathew
5:7: “blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.” If you love your
neighbor as yourself then you’ll love them with mercy in your heart by
forgiving their trespasses just as God forgave you. Help those who are in need,
and relieve the needy and the oppressed.
The last
thing mention in Micah is to walk humbly with your God. Pride only leads to
more destruction in your life and the lives of others around you, just as it
says in proverbs 11:2, which says: “When pride cometh, then cometh shame; but
with the lowly is wisdom.” Jesus said that those that humble themselves will be
exalted, and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. He even said the
parable to not want the best places to sit, exalting yourself, because someone
with higher rank will come along bringing you lower. People who are humble seem
to be better off than those who are prideful in their lives. A humble person is
a teachable person, and a teachable person is a fruitful person: growing to be
more like Christ everyday. A prideful person doesn’t want to learn to be more
like Christ, and be a better person for it. God wants to give us eternal life
in the end, but we need to be humble to receive the blessings of His wisdom and
fruit of the Spirit in order to be prepared for that life in His family. These
little things help us to serve others in our generation—even if they hate you
for doing good. Bless those who curse you: as Jesus said. In the end, these
practical suggestions on how to serve others in your generation seem rather small,
but are really big things to God. Any little thing matters to the LORD, so do
the little things in life: they are the big things.
