When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt. That is why I command you to do this. Deuteronomy 24:19-22
We have always been fairly good at setting aside a tithe (10%) of our income to the church. This is the standard amount commanded throughout scripture, and most Christian bodies agree that it is really the minimum we should devote to the God who in fact saved us from "slavery in Egypt." We have on occasion decided to give more than the 10%, usually in response to a pressing need in the world (natural disasters), an organization we hear about, or a fellow believer needing funding for a mission trip. Because we are not very intentional about giving above the minimum, it tends to not happen very often.
In the U.S., the holidays seem to invoke a spirit of giving in people. This happens with us too, although part of me wonders if the reality is that we are reminded how little we have given of ourselves in the past year, and we scramble to somehow "make up" for it before that new year comes around and the resolutions start all over again (or repeat, as the case may be).
So... here we are. It is November, and while we have tithed this year, we find ourselves wanting to create more of a habit out of this charity thing. The biggest thing in our way of course, is money (imagine that). We are on a strict budget, and barely making ends meet - I know we are not the only ones, and it seems we have cut a lot in order to make day-to-day life work. But I know that in the scripture passage above, these farmers, these winemakers - they were likely a little strapped for cash too. But God, remember, didn't decide to hoard for himself or spare any expense when it came to you. He gave it all. And although slavery in Egypt sounds pretty horrible, it is not even comparable with the havoc that the power of sin can have on a person's life, not just here on earth but for all eternity.
We have a budgeted amount of money set aside for food every month. So starting in November, we are going to take whatever is left over in our food budget (our sheaves overlooked, if you will) and give that money to someone who needs food. Sometimes it might be $5, or sometimes $20, maybe more. I'm sure we might have times where we will be lazy and eat out a few more times, look over our vine a second or even third time, and use it all, but I hope we can do better. Our prayer is that we continue to be creative about how we spend our money and conserve it in the direct interests of others. We want to eat out less, make more from scratch, waste less, and give more. We are no longer going to take the residual of our budget, and allow it to give us permission to spend more than we need. Instead, we can rejoice in spirit with those who will benefit from our overlooked sheaves.
This doesn't sound like too much for God to ask of us, and I think as we witness the poor and hungry coming into our vineyard to gather what is left over, our hearts will open to them and our desire will be to leave them with more and more of our abundance.
