“Therefore, Your Majesty, be pleased to accept my advice: Renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.” Daniel 4:27
One of the more incredible features of the internet community is the platform GoFundMe. Maybe you are familiar with it, people can run fundraisers and accept donations for all sorts of causes, memorials, and everything in between. I am sure many of us have donated to a GoFundMe campaign, I know I have, to quite a few. Did you know that since its inception in 2010, GoFundMe has raised over 9 billion dollars from over 120 million individual donors? That is incredible! It just goes to show that when people face a crisis, there are many people in the community just waiting to show up and bless those in need.
In Daniel chapter 4, we see the story of Nebuchadnezzar who despite having all the wealth anyone could want, had lost sight of the fact that it wasn’t his ingenuity or industry that had provided the blessing, but God who had sovereignly provided. Do you ever lose sight of the fact that the things you “have” are not really yours, at least not to keep? Throughout Scripture, and especially in the Psalms, God is referred to as the one who is the possessor of the earth and all it contains. What do we do with that? What is the point of plenty? Well, I think Daniel 4:27 gives us a good indication: Do what’s right and be kind to the oppressed.
As you think of the many gifts you’ve been given, here are some questions to think about today? What are the causes that you can support with your time or finances that will move the mission of righteousness and justice forward in our community and the world? What are the ways you can use your influence to impact those around you? How can we be a community that says, “We have been so blessed by God, let us use our blessings to bless others.”
Whatever your station or situation, you have been blessed by God in some way to bring about righteousness and justice to this world and to be kind to the oppressed. We can all be kind to one another, a product in short supply in our current cultural climate. Let us strive to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with God using the good gifts we’ve been given to bless and care for those around us. Today, as you go, ask God to reveal to you the ways you might practice righteousness and help the oppressed. It is a big challenge, but we worship a bigger God!
Pastor Seth Redden
High School ministries