Don't Forget the Gift

by Nathan Hawkins

It is funny what holds value in our lives. I remember, as a kid, the way I valued my black BMX bicycle. It was beautiful and most importantly, I paid for it. I sacrificed for it. I took every cent ($80) out of my bank account and I bought my bike.

That bike was ridden mercilessly for years. I went through hundreds of tyres (I was particularly good at skids). The frame was re-welded by Dad when the numerous jumps took their toll. The handlebars were bent back into shape a few times, often after I had sailed over them only minutes before. My bike was used for everything from towing friends on skateboards to dragging the wheelie-bin to the gate. I paid for it. I could see it. I could touch it. I loved it.

In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were challenged by Moses to consider what they held most valuable. Deuteronomy 24:19-21 contained instructions to the Israelites to leave some their wheat behind in the field or to leave some olives in the trees after harvest. The crops left behind were to sustain the homeless, the orphaned and the refugees.

Such an instruction if given today, would challenge many, just as it probably did then. Isn't it unfair for Moses to expect his people to leave some of their crops behind? After all, they worked hard for them. They sacrificed. They toiled and earned whatever grew. Why should someone else benefit from their efforts?

But Moses did not let the instruction end in verse 21. Verse 22 goes on to say "You lived in poverty as slaves in Egypt until the Lord your God rescued you. That's why I am giving you these laws" (CEV). Moses knew that over time the Israelites would become independent and successful in their way, and that independence and success could lead to forgetfulness. The act of sharing with those less fortunate served as a constant reminder to the Israelites that they hadn't always been free. At some point in their past they were the less fortunate. They received the gift of freedom.

Living in 2009, I can't help but think of our independence and success and wonder whether time has led to forgetfulness. The things that we value can often be those things we have earned. Houses, cars, investments, careers and more. We have worked hard for these things. We studied, saved, learned and earned and eventually we were able to accumulate these things. We need them to live. Why should someone else benefit from our efforts?

Thinking back to that bike, I now realise I didn't really earn it. Mum and Dad paid for it because they gave me the $1 or $2 that I put into my bank account each week, and I don't think $80 was nearly enough to cover the purchase price. As a child, I valued it because I thought I earned it. But really, it was a gift.

God, through Moses, reminded the Israelites what they needed to do so they didn't forget the gift they had received. Do we today need that same sort of reminder so we don't forget the gifts we have received?

This article first appeared in the July issue of Northpoint, the newsletter of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North New South Wales.

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