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Beans don't get too much mention in the Bible. By my concordance, they are
mentioned only twice - and then in lists of foods' Evidently they were not as common
a food then as they are now.
Beans, in our society, are somewhat a symbol of hard times, of poverty. We
sometimes say that a person is "down to their last bean." I know the feeling. The layoff
is the cloud over the aerospace industry, and when I was laid off, we ate beans. Lots
of beans, particularly in Navy Bean Soup. We were a young couple, with one child and
another on the way, and it was rather a difficult time. The church we attended was
mostly middle class, and being out of work was somehow not quite respectable. So
when anyone asked, "How are things going?" I always answered, "Fine." My pride was
not going to allow me to say what I was really thinking: "I'm worried stiff, don't have two
nickels to make change for a dime, and I have a wife who's pregnant and a small child
to care for."
It was a small church, however. In a small group you notice these things. So one day
the minister's wife (a sweet soul) came up to me (privately) and handed me a food
basket.
You want to know what pride is? It's wondering how you're going to pay for next
week's groceries, and still saying "Give it to somebody who needs it." It sounds so
generous, so self-sacrificing, so "Christian" and it's so false. Praise God, the lady was
wiser and gentler than 1. "John," she said, "how are they going to learn to give if you
will not receive?"
What a lesson! In one simple statement, she expressed so much. I've used this story
many times before, in many lessons, because it applies in so many ways:
• We are all part of Christ's body, the church. When one of us hurts, the body hurts.
(Ever try to tell yourself "it's only a toothache?")
• One of the lessons in "body life" is that pride prevents me from letting others reach
out to me in Christ's name. It's good to ask, "Is my pride hindering the work of
Christ's body?"
• Sometimes we need to begin the life of giving by giving to those we know. If your
heart is hard and your mind cynical, it helps to have a living example of real need
before your eyes. The test is then before you.
• Other times we find ourselves able to give to a cause (remember your mother and
the "starving Armenians?") because that's just money - not commitment. The
person in front of you may need more than money: he may need you.
• The help you give should be tangible whenever possible. "I'm praying for you"
means a lot more to the hungry when accompanied by a bag of beans.
I will never be able to repay her for that basket. The food in it is long since gone, but
the lessons learned linger on. My father taught me long ago that there are some debts
you can never repay. You can only pass the favor along. When you do, you can never
see where it ends.
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