...What does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.

“Therefore the Eternal God of Israel declares: 'I promised that your family would go in and out of My presence forever. But now I surely declare, those who honor Me I will honor, but people who chose to despise Me, I, in turn, will consider contemptible: those who hate Me will not matter to Me.” (1 Samuel 2:30)

God was speaking to Eli about his sons who he was giving more honor to them God. His sons had some sense of entitlement in their roles and priests and were using it for their own gain. They did not love God with their whole hearts and honor Him in their actions, but really despised Him and following His rules for worship.

Their hearts were far from God and this was reflected by the way they served themselves rather than genuinely serving God unto others. Eventually, their hypocrisy of service  led to Eli's sons being killed in battle and the covenant chest captured.

The religious rituals were designed to point people to God. They were to remind them of who they are and whose they are. They had the honor and privilege of serving the God of the universe and standing before Him in His presence.

Somehow this service to Him was being done our of compliance, privilege and entitlement. It became a burden to Eli's sons rather than a platform directing/guiding them into a deeper relationship with God.

This not only impacted them, but as priests that the people looked to for spiritual direction, it was impacting others as well. They were a barrier to God rather than a an on-ramp of sorts.  They lost the covenant chest in battle and times became so dark that the people were living distant from God and serving other gods. 

As they lived without the covenant chest and with an absence of God, He began to stir grief in their hearts as Samuel called them to repentance. In 1 Samuel 7:3 he told the Israelites, “If you really want to totally devote yourselves and return to the Eternal One, then get rid of all the foreign gods and goddesses you have gathered. Devote yourselves to the Eternal, serve Him and Him alone, and He will save you from the oppression of the Philistines.”

Mother Teresa writes in a devotional, “You are a rich nation but on your streets I saw man lying drunk and no one picked him up, no one seemed to bother about him, no one tried to restore to him his human dignity, to bring back to him the sense that he is a brother, a child of God.” [1]

This is basically the same thing that Jesus said in the parable of the Good Samaritan. In essence, he was making a statement that these spiritual religious leaders were walking by those who needed to be restored and it was the ones they despised, the Samaritans, who noticed and helped the poor.

A lot of what we do as Christians can look spiritual. But Jesus sees through to our hearts and knows our true devotion (or lack of ). Sometimes we can really be performing spiritual rituals and following rules rather than genuinely loving God with our whole hearts.  When we love God, it will shine through in how we care for our brothers and sisters all around, especially the poor.

Hannah in her praise to God for having a son that would serve Him, burst forth, “He lifts the poor up out of the dust, the needy from the trash heap. He raises them to sit with princes and seat them on a glorious throne.” (1 Samuel 2:8)

How can we love Him and not care about what deeply moves His heart? When we are genuinely following Him, our hearts reflect the same selfless service out of love that He offers us.

Jesus also tells a parable about a rich man at a table who ignored Lazarus, covered with sores that was daily at his gate. Then later after they died, this rich man who had so much privilege and felt entitled to the kingdom while he was alive, was suddenly on the other side and begging for a drop of mercy.

Sometimes as we live as Christians for awhile, we can forget that our salvation and everything we have (and even who we are) were gifts that were undeserved and given to us by God and feel entitled to our privileges. 

Eli's son's very clearly did not share God's heart for the people. They were not concerned about their needs or their relationship with God, only about getting the best portion for themselves.

Sometimes I fail to see the poverty in my neighbor or even notice their sores that need His healing balm. Whenever I am focused on myself, I lack the same compassion for others.

My neighbor sometimes is not laying on the street in front of me.  Rather, they are the one who is difficult to deal with at times.  They demand their own way and look for opportunities to throw you under the bus.   Or they are the one who talks about you and others negatively behind your back.  Or the presumptuous person who always seems to judge your intentions in the worst way.

These are the people who are difficult (for me at least) to love in a way that brings them healing.  I have a hard time as seeing them as the poor that is need of my help.  Rather, I look for ones who will appreciate me and value my help.

Proverbs 25:21-22 says, "If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For you will heap burning coals on his head, And the LORD will reward you."

Sometimes people have viewed this verse that if we are good to people who are mean to us, we will make them feel guilty and ashamed.  In this way, it is actually a little manipulative to reach out and help.  We are only really hoping to manipulate them into feeling a certain way.

Another way I have understood this verse, is that "heaping coals on his head" was actually the way people carried coals (in a pan) to bring them to a fire to warm themselves.  I love this understanding much better.  If someone is hurting you, give them what they need in hopes that it will meet some deep need they have and warm them. 
 
Paul says in Romans 12:9 that love must be sincere.  How does it look to sincerely love those who hurt us - not with hooks or expecting some outcome, but in a healing way?

Many years ago, there was a woman who sat next to me at work that was incredibly mean to me.  As it turned out, she had my job previously and was moved out of the role (demoted) because her staff complained and reported her as a bully.   

I got to the point that I was feeling fed up with this woman.  I had a short tolerance for her mean tactics and games.  Then as I asked God what I could give Him for Christmas that year,  I felt Him speak that I could write this woman an apology note and pray and fast over Christmas for her healing.  I remember genuinely wanting to throw up.   

I couldn't believe after all the pain she directed my way that God was asking me to apologize and pray for her.   However, I felt God speaking that she was stuck and judging her would just keep her there - what she needed was freedom.  I wrote her a note right before Christmas apologizing for in any way offending her or hurting her.   I then fasted and prayed for her over the Christmas holiday.

On Monday when I returned to work, I was amazed the difference.  She was pleasant and seemed to be walking on air.   She had this freedom I had never seen before. Shortly after, she was given an opportunity to manage again and did a good job at it!  It was this new leaf that turned over in her life.  Looking back, I can now see that she really resented wanting and trying so hard to be a good manager and failing at this.
 
Not too long after, someone I was really close to passed away.  Most people didn't realize how deeply I was grieving, but this woman who had been so mean to me saw it.  She bought me a large bouquet of yellow flowers and a sympathy note and placed them on my table.  I was amazed at the goodness of God.  Those coals she heaped back onto me, genuinely brought me warmth and healing. 

Lord, forgive me for sometimes being more religious than genuinely loving You. I would love to be more able to see and love the poor and  I sometimes really fail at this.  Help us to see where we are seeking our own gain or acting out of a sense of privilege. Turn our hearts fully to you just as you did the Israelites under Samuel. Give us wholehearted devotion that sees, serves and lifts up the least around us.