The Great Society - Deuteronomy 15:4-11

"There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession. You will receive this blessing if you are careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today" (vs. 4-5). In 1964 President Lyndon Johnson declared that America had an opportunity to become "The Great Society" where poverty and racial injustice would be eliminated. God intended for His people to be a society where no one would be poor because of His blessings and because of the generosity of His people: "Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some in the land who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share freely with the poor and with other Israelites in need" (vs. 10-11). So while God's intent is that there should be no poor in His society because of His blessings, the reality is that there are poor people and people in need. So the problem of poverty is mitigated when God's people are generous with His blessings. Unfortunately, God's people often perceive giving as a command. However, these verses clearly illustrate generosity is an attitude that God's people should have because of His blessings--the mercy and lovingkindness He shows toward His people--and giving is the result of having such an attitude. Besides, there's really nothing to be lost from giving and when you give generously or because you are generous then God will bless you in everything you do. In God's Great Society, when you are generous, you receive back more than you ever give away!