| Secrets of a Beautiful Life |
Chapter 2 |
Page 7 |
Then we need not fear that in giving out our paltry store we shall impoverish ourselves. No, it is by selfishly withholding our little that impoverishment will come to us. Had the woman refused to feed the hungry stranger at her gate, her meal and oil would have sufficed for only one little day for herself and her son. But she recognized her debt to this wayfarer, and shared with him her scanty supply; and, lo! It lasted for them both through all the days of the famine. If we use what we have for ourselves alone, it will waste and soon be done, and we shall starve. But if we pay our debt of love, and share our little, it will multiply, and will last unto the end. Ida Whipple Benham writes:
“Keep it not idly by thee—hoard it not!
Thy friend hath need of it; behold, he stands
Waiting to take the bounty of thy hands;
Pay him the debt thou owest, long forgot,
Or—hast thou paid already—ease his lot
Of that which he would sell, or loaf, or lands—
Whate’er his need can spare and thine demands;
So shall thy wealth be clean and without spot.
“Dost thou not know? Hast thou not understood?
The stagnant pool breeds pestilence, disease;
The hurrying stream bears bounty on its tide.
Pass on thy gold, a messenger of good;
Swift let it speed on gracious ministries;
Wing it with love and let its flight be wide.”
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