Gracious

“One who is gracious to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.” Proverbs 19:17

Gracious – What does it mean to be gracious to the poor?  Most of us would immediately reject the Martha Stewart “gracious living” answer.  We know that being gracious to the poor does not mean setting an elegant table.  Christians will probably see a mental image of missionary work – the doctor or nurse in war-torn Somalia or the relief worker feeding a starving infant in Ethiopia.  Those images are associated with giving money to missions.  Is that the end of the story?

The Hebrew verb (chanan) is most often used to describe God’s action.  That gives us a standard to measure the meaning of “gracious”.  When God is gracious, He is not merely sympathetic.  He does not look upon His children and say, “Oh, I feel so sorry for them.  I wish I could do something about it.”  No, God acts!  God’s gracious behavior is defined in His acts of benevolence toward us.  When God sees the needs of his children, He responds.  He is passionate about us.  Graciousness is found in the character of someone who can provide relief when he or she actually does provide relief.  When that happens, God says that person models His behavior.

One of the most startling uses of a form of this verb is found in Exodus 34:6.  It is God’s definition of Himself.  If someone were to ask you to define yourself in terms of your character, what would you say?  How would be want to be known?  Moses asked God this question and God answered Him.  And the very first thing that God said about Himself is that He is gracious.  The first thing that God wants to be known for is His willingness to offer help to those in need.  Is that the first thing you think about when you think about God?  Is that the first thing people think of when they think about you?

Solomon saw the connection between our actions and God’s actions.  He said that when we meet the needs of others, simply because we can, we are doing something that God would do.  And God loves His children to model Him.

Today:  When the opportunity to act benevolently toward someone else occurs today (and it will), make a commitment now to model God’s character.  Make “gracious” your number one self-description.