Opus 2012-156, Monday Pulpit: Not Harvesting the Edges

Sunday we were visiting a church while on vacation.  The youth pastor was preaching.  His name was Brian Miller.  He preached on a verse that I was familiar with.

(Leviticus 23:22 NAS77)  'When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the alien. I am the LORD your God.'"

He approached it in a way totally different than I would have preached.  I was challenged by what he had to say.  His central theme, paraphrased, was, “You don’t always get a pay-off for everything you do.” 

He was making the point that we should not go through life expecting to be rewarded for all the good and right things that we do.  He pointed out how the farmer had worked hard for every grain of the harvest but he was instructed to leave part of it.  He pointed out that God did not say that if no one had gleaned it in a few days the farmer could go back and finish the job.  “Leave it,” was the command.

My mind began to wander, as it usually does.  A common phrase came to mind, “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”  This verse would edit that to “I’ll scratch your back even if you don’t return the favor.”  This brought to my mind the passage in the Sermon on the Mount that starts with,

(Matthew 5:39 KJV)  But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Another thought I had was that when we do a favor for someone, we should not keep reminding them of how gracious we were.

It was a good Sunday.  I trust the Lord was speaking to you also.

homo unius libri