The rich man and the poor man at his gates, a story told by Jesus and related to us by Luke. The rich man with plenty, enjoying a life of comfort and excess, the poor man in poor health begging outside his gate. Like they were in different worlds. A chasm between their lives. Then they die and the poor man at last finds comfort but the rich man finds his comforts gone. A chasm between their afterlives.

Even with just a roof, an inside loo and food on the table, most of us are richer than most of the people of the world. Timothy warns us that "those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires".  So we are not to be complacent, not to focus on what we have or want, rather to pursue living rightly in God's eyes, generously showing his love, enduring in faith. To set our hopes on God who richly provides all things for our enjoyment, to be rich in doing good. 

Being called a do-gooder can be meant as an insult but it is not about doing good to be seen (showing off that we "have"), rather it is sharing what God has given us so that the lives of others can be better.  God's love crosses our boundaries and he uses people to show that. The opposite of love is not hate, it's apathy.

DG (webmaster)