9 Be careful that you do not entertain a mean thought, thinking, ‘The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,’ and therefore view your needy neighbor with hostility and give nothing; your neighbor might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt. 10 Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.’

Prayer Focus: With the command we looked at on Monday to forgive debts in the 7th year alongside the command to lend to those in need, there’s a tendency to start calculating instead of giving. Give liberally. Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor. As Thomas Merton once wrote: “Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody’s business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy.” Pray for a heart to love, not determine whether others are worthy of our assistance.

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