Like the Dead Sea

“The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you.” Mark 4:24

How generous are we with our prayers? Our encouragement? Our service to others? Our money? Our forgiveness? Our time? Do we see that in God’s economy, the more we give, the more we receive? 

There is so much poverty around us, and I do not mean just those we see begging in the streets. How about our office mate who needs encouragement? Our classmate whose mother is dying? A neighbor who is anxious about her son who disappeared? Every time we help others in any way, we are being Jesus to them. 

In Matthew 25:31-40, Jesus reveals that whatever we do for one of the least of his brothers and sisters in need, we do it for Him. “Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.” (Proverbs 19:17)

If we are not generous with our time, talent and treasure, we will be like the Dead Sea or the Devil’s Sea. The Jordan river empties into it but it has no outlet. Because it is landlocked, the water evaporates and leaves behind massive amounts of salt, making it so dense that people can float on top of it. No plants, algae or animals survive in this brackish water but at the very bottom there are microbial fungi and bacteria. This is what we become if we just receive all the blessings God gives us, and do not bless others with what we have.