Christian Living

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A Hand Up! Not A Hand Out!
© 2008

by


Stephen A. Peterson


A far northwest Oklahoma City duplex had fallen into near ruin after a family of renters had moved out leaving the building to spiders, scorpions and sparrows. Then Pearcy Anderson bought the property. After nearly a year of back breaking work, sweat and almost $30,000, he transformed this once unsightly property into a place of breath-taking beauty. The hole ridden doors were replaced. The broken windows were removed and in their place energy efficient glass; siding; fences mended; trees trimmed; weeds replaced with high dollar Bermuda grass; and the aroma of flowers arranged and planted to tease the senses.

On a Saturday afternoon, the minister from his church came by to observe his finished work. “Say Pearcy! God and you have certainly done an outstanding job of restoring this house and its property.”

Pearcy indicated his gratefulness to God for His gifts, mercy, and looking out for him. Then Pearcy added in a serious but satirical manner, “But you really should have seen this property when He was managing it by Himself.”

All capriciousness aside, God will not do for humanity what humanity should do for itself—for the most part. Furthermore, humanity should not want it any other way. Satisfaction for a job well done is one of life’s greatest rewards and richest blessings to humankind’s mental and physical well—being. Yet today in many Christian churches and among Christians there exists the belief that if one waits God WILL provide them with talents and treasures. When it is not forthcoming, then God is powerless, disinterested or does not exist. In God’s wisdom and judgment, humanity was given the powers of rationality and reasoning skills—talents no other creatures are known to possess. These skills were not given human in equal proportions. Did Christ in his parable regarding talents give examples of differences and distinctions in human abilities and treasures? There is truth in the adage that God feeds the birds of the air but He does not thrown the food in their nest. God does not intend to do all of your work nor is he going to GIVE you everything you demand for very obvious reasons.

Humankind should pray as though everything depended on God and labor as though everything depended on us.

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