She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
Not only does she provide for her own family and responsibilities, but she reaches out to help others as well. This one is pretty self explanatory. Help those less fortunate than ourselves. Sounds pretty easy, but do we do it? I know I have often found myself exiting the highway only to see someone standing at the light at the end of the exit ramp with a cardboard sign and dressed in ragged clothes and I begin to pray. Sounds pretty good doesn't it? Except my prayer tends to be more along the lines of, "please turn green, please turn green. Don't make me stop beside him." Their poverty makes me uncomfortable. Or I start to think that perhaps they are really just trying to get something for nothing, being lazy. But this isn't the attitude we are supposed to have.
I had to finally realize that I need to change my prayer to something more along the lines of, "God, you have put me here, what is it you want me to do?" Sometimes I don't feel led to do anything but drive on past, others I have given money, and others I have given gift cards (it's what I had on hand). Rather than let my own flawed thoughts lead the way, I move over and let God take over. It is easy to bring some food to the canned food drive at church, or to give when the Boy Scouts collect. Have you really opened your arms and extended your hand to the needy? Hard to do if you won't get face to face with them. Take a day and volunteer at the local food pantry or soup kitchen. Walk up to the homeless person and talk to him or her. My husband and I were once eating breakfast at a local fast food restaurant, saw a man and both of us felt led to give him a gift certificate for food. My husband purchased it, went outside and presented the man with it, and invited him to breakfast with us. We discovered that the establishment would not allow him inside! At what point did we (society) quit caring about people? At what point did we as Christians decide that only those as good as ourselves deserve respect? I attended a church at one point and was told by the preacher's wife that the church would only help people who requested it if they attended our church first! I don't recall that being in my Bible anywhere. Jesus called us to love each other and to help each other, regardless of our position. Do you truly extend your hand to the needy, or do you simply put your offering on a stick and poke it at them?
