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Lesson Highlight: "just" vs. "fair"
In "Doctrinal Discussion" Dr. Gayle Woods writes:
To be good parents, a couple cannot treat their children the same. In other words, they will not be fair. Children have different temperaments, strengths, needs, weaknesses, and are different ages, so they cannot be allowed the same freedoms and privileges at a given time. It is the same in spiritual matters. God in His infinite wisdom is not fair. He knows our frame. He is aware of our level of spiritual maturity. He knows our strengths and weaknesses. He remembers how we have been hurt in the past and how it affects our thinking in the present. He knows our history of dealing with trials in life. He knows us. He treats us like individuals. He doesn’t look at a manual to find the universal answer for our problems. He gives us what fits us at the time. He is not fair, and that is a blessing! He always does what is right because He is not fair. He is just.
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 68.
Lesson Highlight: "righteousness"
"Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor." (Leviticus 19:15)
In "Biblical Perspective" for this lesson, Dr. Gordon Snider writes:
Righteousness can also be translated “justice,” and speaks directly to the theme of the lesson today. Fairness, or justice, requires equality of treatment. Thou shalt not respect the person of the poor reminds us that it is wrong to honor the poor simply because they are poor. Human nature tends to run to extremes. Either we disdain the poor, or we elevate them. Fairness requires equal treatment regardless of economic status.
Discussion: How can we avoid the temptation of responding to injustice by swinging to one extreme or the other?
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 66.
Lesson Highlight: "thou shalt not wholly reap…"
"And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 19:9-10)
In the "Biblical Perspective" for this lesson, Dr. Gordon Snider writes:
A spirit of mercy is at the core of the Judeo-Christian ethic. God is always pictured as the friend and defender of the outcast, down-trodden, and disenfranchised of society. Providing food for the poor is a part of that spirit of mercy. Never once in these verses, or the parallel texts such as Leviticus 23:22 and Deuteronomy 24:19-22, is the subject of why these people were poor considered. Instead, a social “safety net” was to be drawn under the entire society.
Discussion: Why do Christians, faced with the opportunity to help those in need, sometimes focus more on why people are poor, than how to help them?
Discussion: How can we improve our reflection of Christ's holiness in our dealings with the poor?
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 64.
God's Example
Read Hebrews 6:9-12
“For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shown toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (v. 10).
Let us face it, life is not fair. As a matter of fact, neither is God. He is holy, altogether lovely, and not fair. Did He give you what you deserved? A good friend of mine, Augusta, grew up extremely poor. She married to get away, and her life turned out worse. One day an evangelist stopped by their trailer, told the simple gospel message, and Gussie prayed through. Her husband left her with the children, declaring that religion was the problem. Her limited education made it hard to find a job, yet she felt compelled to give the gospel to those who didn’t know. She worked among the drunks in the slums, held street meetings, and helped get some churches started. With her children grown, she totaled her assets — an ancient little travel trailer with no vehicle to move it.
One of her boys ended up stationed in Germany. That year the U.S. government decided to send mothers to the boys instead of bringing them home. Gussie boarded a plane, flew to Germany, toured Italy, visited the Sistine Chapel, breathed the fresh air of the Swiss Alps, and saw many castles in Bavaria. It didn’t cost her anything. You can never out-give God. (Joyce Cooper)
God delights in doing “special” things for His own.
This devotional is the Monday, November 9, 2015 entry of Opening the Word.
Demonstrating Fairness
Lesson 11 - November 15, 2015
Focus Text: Leviticus 19:9-15; Exodus 23:1-9
Central Truth: The Christian family treats everyone fairly in light of God’s justice.
Objective: By the end of this lesson my students should be able to list several principles that should guide their interactions with others.
Lesson Outline:
- Fairness with the Poor (Leviticus 19:9-10)
- Fairness with Neighbors (Leviticus 19:11-14)
- Fairness in Judgment (Leviticus 19:15)
- Fairness in Community (Exodus 23:1-9)
Lesson Highlight: "generosity"
"Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others." (Philippians 2:4)
In "God's Word for Today", David Woods writes:
The focus of too many families today seems to be all about simply being a worldly success. Whether it may be the parents’ obsession with their careers, a daughter’s desperation to dress according to every fad, a son’s insistence to have the latest computing device, etc., so many, even Christians, have come to define their lives by stuff they accumulate or positions they hold. Often accompanying this drive for success is a disregard for those in need.
Discussion: Is the point of this verse that we should have no self-interest? What does it mean to be people marked by generosity?
Source: Biblical Family Values, Adult Teacher's Insights, page 58.