Deuteronomy 15:10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this things the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
How many times have you been given something by someone else and you felt guilty for it? You didn’t feel guilty because someone gave you something. You felt guilty because they felt as if they were superior, like they were being virtuous, even that they were a martyr for doing you a good turn. That is easier to see than the real question in play which is, “Have you ever done that? Have you ever felt entitled to a greater moral authority because you were so generous with somebody? Have you ever felt like a martyr because you did the right thing?” This is human nature, and it is an ongoing story that has been around since ancient days.
In Deuteronomy 15 the Bible is giving a specific context in which people in Israel might have the advantage over someone else, that is, they have more power or money in some way than other people. In verse 9 it says they were to “beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart.” Then, in verse 18 it says, “It shall not seem hard to thee, when thou sendest him away free from thee.” Both of these are part of different circumstances in which a Jewish person, one of God’s chosen people, could do the right thing, could be “generous” in their own mind to someone else and feel as if they were entitled and had the moral high ground. God cautions them against thinking the wrong way, feeling as if they had endured some hardship by doing the right thing.
The reason for this is because the difference between being generous and being a martyr is how you see yourself. Five times in Deuteronomy 15 the Bible talks about God’s blessing us. Verse 6 says, “For the LORD thy God blesseth thee, as he promised thee.” Later it talks about doing right by other people because “for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works.” Verse 14 says, “Wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him.” Verse 15 says, “The LORD thy God redeemed thee.” Again in verse 18 it says, “The LORD thy God shall bless thee in all that thou doest.” In other words, we are not extremely virtuous just because we do the right thing. We need to remember that God provided for us first. He is the One who gives to others by giving through us.
In Proverbs the Bible says, “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he [God] pay him [the lender] again.” How can God owe you anything? He cannot! But there is a sense in which when I do right by someone who does not have as much power, money, or means as I do, I am lending to God. Jesus says, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these…ye have done it unto me.” There is a God in Heaven, and when we realize that He has been gracious to us, we will have no trouble being gracious to other people.