Pay It Forward
Cast your bread on the surface of the waters, for you will find it after many days. Ecclesiastes 11:1 NASB
Waters – The Teacher, Qohelet, might be somewhat of a skeptic, but that doesn’t mean his advice isn’t practical. “Spend your efforts on the one you love in your youth,” is great advice. “Don’t worry about tomorrow; enjoy today,” rings true. “The best you can hope for is a little song, a little wine and a good bed,” is helpful too. But when it comes to charity, Qohelet has some remarkable insights.
“Cast you bread upon the surface of the waters.” In other words, “perform deeds of charity, giving alms and assistance to a number of people in need. Though you do not know how your reward will come, it will.”[1] You don’t give charity in order to be rewarded since you have no control at all over the reward, but, as Qohelet observes, one of the laws of God’s universe is that unselfish charitable acts are rewarded. This is a biblical paradox you can count on.
A little further investigation provides some interesting insight. The Hebrew verb, shalah (to send, to cast, to let go), is associated with God sending messengers or signs and wonders. The verb reminds us of its divine component, from releasing the plagues to freeing the captives. If we pay attention to this passage, we find that we are instructed to send forth or send away our “bread,” that is, the things in our possession that support our livelihood, on to the surface of the waters. The phrase “surface of the waters” is ‘al-pene hammayim, literally “the face of the waters.” But that isn’t quite right either. The word “face” is always plural in Hebrew (panim). So we should read this as, “the faces of the waters.” That causes us to rethink the metaphor. What if the Teacher is not describing “water” but rather something else commonly associated with waters in the ancient world? What if we should read this as, “the faces of chaos”?
Real acts of charity are not the result of calculations. As soon as I enter into a calculation of the effect of my deed, I have already transitioned from raham (compassion) to mishpat (justice), or worse, to pride, (ge’a) the calculation of how I will be perceived in my charitable act. Interestingly, “pride” is about “rising up,” whereas true charity is about “going down.” We can hardly touch the heart of someone in need if we are not willing to stoop to the person’s level. Charity from the heights is nothing more than publicity.
Let go of your abundance into the face of chaos. That seems like the last thing anyone would do. Chaos is uncontrolled. Chaos swallows up goodness without a hiccup. Chaos opposes God. But, then, God is sovereign, isn’t He? And if my act of charity brings His compassion to chaos, have I not begun a redemptive work? Cast your bread. Who know what will happen?
Topical Index: cast, shalah, face, panim, chaos, reward, charity, Ecclesiastes 11:1
[1] Michael Fox, The JPS Commentary: Ecclesiastes, p. 72
Please tell me whi is Qohelet?
Thank you.
Hebrew transliterated word for Ecclesiastes.
Qohelet is the word for “teacher,” the name of the author of Ecclesiastes.
Charity, performed correctly, is an act of power. The power that says “I am rich enough”. Charity, in fact, may be the only way I can ever have to be truly rich in this world, where nothing is certain but what was mine enough to give away (thank you for pointing that out, too, Skip). Charity happens to be the riches I deposit in the Bank of Heaven, where there are no moths, thieves or rust, I am told. Charity exerts that power directly over chaos, too, for a black hole has no resistance against a freeby that got thrown its way.
Charity superimposes the wealth of heaven on the earth with the very coin of its realm. In the ancient world, money was a symbol of political power over a region or people. Jews, rightly, also considered the coin of Rome to be blasphemous in the realm of YHVH, and it was always refused at the Temple, at least. The filthy lucre may pass through your fingers, but you should prepare to die rather than to kiss the icon of Ceasar on the face of it.
Charity is very hard to refuse in this world that is starving for love and desperately bankrupt and enslaved to the curse of sin. Charity evades resistance by knocking at the door and just leaving the parcel on the doorstep. The kingdom gets carried through the door by the other side.
Charity brings a corner of order to the chaos of the world, and love reigns there. Charity is the opening salvo of the skirmish at the frontier, and it can start some very far-reaching ripples, too. If a kingdom can be lost for want of a horseshoe nail, it can also be won the same way, too.
This is so good! “Let go of your abundance into the face of chaos.” This is my life every day as I teach in the little school I started in my neighborhood. Literal chaos many times! But, Oh!, the fruit that I have seen! Love reigns!
Pásalo…
Echa tu pan sobre las aguas, Que después de muchos días lo hallarás. Eclesiastés 11:1
Aguas – El maestro, Kohelet, puede que sea algo escéptico, pero eso no significa que su consejo no sea práctico. “Gasta tus esfuerzos en la persona que amas desde tu juventud”, es un gran consejo. “No te preocupes por el mañana; disfruta hoy”, suena real. “Lo mejor que puedes esperar es un poco de canción, Un poco de vino y una buena cama”, esto también es útil. Pero cuando se trata de caridad Kojelet tiene algunas opiniones extraordinarias.
“Echa tu pan sobre las aguas”. En otras palabras, “haz actos de caridad, dando limosna y ayuda a varias personas necesitadas. Aunque no sepas cómo vendrá tu recompensa, seguramente vendrá. [1] No das caridad para ser recompensado ya que no tienes ningún control sobre la recompensa, pero como observa Kojelet, una de las leyes del universo de Dios es que los actos de caridad son recompensados. Esta es una paradoja bíblica en la que puedes contar.
Un poco de investigación nos provee una perspectiva interesante. El verbo hebreo, shalah (enviar, dejar ir, echar) está asociado con la acción de Dios de enviar mensajeros o señales y prodigios. El verbo nos recuerda su componente divino, desde enviar las plagas hasta liberar los esclavos. Si ponemos atención a este pasaje, encontramos qué somos instruidos a enviar o mandar nuestro pan, es decir, las cosas que poseemos que son el sostén de nuestra vida, a las aguas. La frase “a las aguas” es ‘al-pene jamayim, literalmente “la faz de las aguas”. Pero eso no es completamente correcto tampoco. La palabra “faz” siempre es plural en hebreo (panim). Entonces deberíamos leer esto como, “los rostros de las aguas”. Esto nos provoca que reevaluemos la metáfora. ¿Qué tal si el Maestro no está describiendo “agua” sino algo diferente comúnmente asociado con aguas en el mundo antiguo? ¿Qué tal si debemos leer esto como “los rostros del caos”?
Los verdaderos actos de caridad no son el resultado de cálculos. En cuanto entró en un cálculo del efecto de mi obra, he pasado de raham (compasión), a mishpat (justicia) o aún peor a orgullo (ge’a) el cálculo de como yo seré percibido en mi acto de caridad. Interesantemente, “el orgullo” se trata de “levantar”, al contrario la caridad es acerca de “bajar”. Difícilmente podremos tocar el corazón de alguien en necesidad si no estamos dispuestos a rebajarnos al nivel de la persona. La caridad desde las alturas no es nada más que publicidad.
Despréndete de la abundancia ante la faz del caos. Esto parece ser lo último que alguien haría. El caos es sin control. El caos se traga la bondad sin toser. El caos se opone a Dios. Pero, Dios es soberano ¿o no? Y si mi acto de caridad trae Su compasión al caos, ¿Acaso no he comenzado una obra redentora? Echa tu pan. ¿Quién sabe lo que ocurrirá?
Topical Index: cast, shalah, face, panim, chaos, reward, charity, Ecclesiastes 11:1
[1] Michael Fox, The JPS Commentary: Ecclesiastes, p. 72
Hello Edy
I would love to read your comments but I am just coping with learning Hebrew, a beautiful but
complex language.
Wipe the egg off my face. I have just realized this a translation of TW into Spanish.