more thoughts on isaiah 1:16-17

In the last few years God has been raising my awareness of the poor and needy and showing me the theology of the poor in Scripture. While that is continuing, God is now calling me to do something. Positively, I am beginning to think of ways to live generously and instead of a generous deed here or there. However, I still need to learn how to prevent making a mental list and checking it off, as if one generous deed holds me for a while. What I am doing is motivated out of love for God and a desire to respond to Him and to live a holy life, but I still have a tendency to mentally check things off. I want to get past that and just respond to God every time He nudges me, without thinking that I am somehow “okay” if I do this. Realizing that “justice” in Isaiah 1:17 is more than just social justice, but following the will of God, is helping me to grasp the holistic nature of the theology of the poor. It is about a lifestyle of generosity, not a list of good deeds.