The soul who sins will die. “But if a
man is righteous and practices justice and righteousness, and does
not eat at the mountain shrines or lift up his eyes to the idols of
the house of Israel, or defile his neighbor's wife or approach a
woman during her menstrual period- if a man does not oppress anyone,
but restores to the debtor his pledge, does not commit robbery but
gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, if
he does not lend money on interest or take increase, if he keeps his
hand from iniquity and executes true justice and My ordinances so as
to deal faithfully- he is righteousness and shall surely live,”
declares the Lord God. Ezekiel 18:4b-9
This is one long sentence, but it is
one thought, so I will not take our clothing verse out of its
context.
It is hard to define righteousness, but
here Ezekiel defines it for us in light of our care for the needy
hand-in-hand with religious purity. The verses before this talk of
God no longer cursing the sons for the sins of the fathers. This
would be in context of whole tribes and nations being doomed, as well
as Jewish children suffering the fate of their idol-worshiping
parents. Over and over we look at the lives of the kings. Some
followed God, but their children did not, and vice versa. But the
point is, where the hearts of the people go in regard to Whom they
will worship, so went the culture. Here we see that those who refused
to “look up” to idols followed God in other ways as well, from
sexual purity to taking care of the needs of those around them.
In this day and age, we speak of
looking up to people...movie stars, politicians, religious leaders
(both true and false teachers), teachers, community leaders, and
philanthropists. Some of these are good to look up to, and some are
not. But the truth remains that those we look up to sway our
thoughts, and therefore, our behavior. Those who look up to those who
promote non-Christian thought are dragging away a generation or two
because they are not comparing those thoughts with the thoughts of
God. We do well not to look up to anyone but God because people will
let us down. Even the most godly among us will say and do things that
will make us scratch our heads in wonder. But God is in His Holy
temple...let all the earth keep silent before Him.
So when we look only to the Lord as our
source and sustainer, we will act graciously to those around us.
There will be no taking advantage of women, no coveting things and
wives of people close to us. We will not look to take advantage of
another's misfortune, but see to it that they are restored when they
need to borrow for a while. We will not look to take, but to give and
see people have their daily needs met. And that includes seeing that
they are clothed. They don't need to be humiliated before their
fellow man. They don't need to be cold. They are to be fed, and given
justice. If their employer doesn't pay them, they should be defended
and cared for until right prevails. If they need a personal loan,
don't make it a benefit to yourself...give the loan and accept
repayment without charging them. This proves that you did it to meet
their need and not to benefit for yourself, taking advantage of the
situation. God says He hates that. It makes it all the harder for the
poor man to get out of his poverty. It makes him shamed, indebted to
his fellow man...a slave of sorts...to those who should be helping
out of a sense of brotherhood and love, not greed and disdain.
He keeps himself from iniquity. That is
grossly unfair behavior toward another. He is fair in his dealings
with a brother and with God. God states over and over how much He
hates iniquity. That is usually the one trait of God that most of us
have in common with Him. We hate unfairness in its many forms. And we
despise those who would take advantage of someone else for their own
greedy gain. Unfortunately we confuse proper profit for hard work and
ownership for unjust gain. People will march against a company
because they make a profit, often assuming that the people that work
for them are being treated badly. We need to know who is being greedy
sometimes...and it isn't always the employer. But God knows the
heart. Jesus talked of an employer who paid people what they needed
to live even though their brother worked longer hours. Those who
worked declared it unfair. But Jesus called the generous act good. So
we need to do our job and not keep accounts on someone else's life.
Others will have more or less than I, but that is not my concern. Am
I dealing justly with those around me? Am I meeting the needs of
those who do not have the things they need for life and comfort of
heart and soul? Am I giving without concern of what I will receive
back in return, even if it is nothing of advantage to me? God sees
and says that if I am that sort of person...a godly person, for this
is how God gives to us (what can I EVER pay back to God?) that I will
live. Live for His glory. Live for the joy of being a friend of God
and man. And that's a great life.
