Leviticus 19:9-18
9 “When
you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to
its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. 10 And you shall not
strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your
vineyard. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the
Lord your God.
11 “You
shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another. 12 You shall not swear
by my name falsely, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord.
13 “You
shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall
not remain with you all night until the morning. 14 You shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling
block before the blind, but you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.
15 “You
shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer
to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor. 16 You shall not go
around as a slanderer among your people, and you shall not stand up against the
life of your neighbor: I am the Lord.
17 “You
shall not hate your brother in your heart, but you shall reason frankly with
your neighbor, lest you incur sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge
against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as
yourself: I am the Lord.
The Laborer is worth his wages. You should be paid for a job well done. You should likewise, pay for services rendered. One thing that many people get frustrated with are late fees, or late payments. These things go hand in hand. People do not like it when you pay them late, so they charge an additional fee for carrying that debt.
This should be balanced with the first paragraph of or text. It is good to reap what we sow. It is important for us to work for a lving, and become bottom feeders, Marx's leach on society. But we should also no glean the entire harvest for ourselves. Does this simple mean not worrying about the bushel of corn left on the highway? Does these mean trusting people with self pay farmer's stands? Does this mean leaving rows of of wheat, corn, or beans in the field?
No, this means providing fork those in need. This means offering food to others. This means giving it away, sure to friends family and co-workers, but also to strangers. This should not just apply to agriculture harvests, but money, wealth, or earnings we bring in, should also have a good portion that can go back out to help people. We need to think about the poor and needy.
The Lord would have us enjoy life. He is The Lord of the harvest. He is gleaning from the earth all the people he can. He is forgiving sin, cleansing bodies, and snatching souls from the grasp of the devil. He has done this for you. He has snatched you from death, so you can look outside of yourself.
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