Reveal Love While Doing God's Business — Sunday, June 21

"Dead flies putrefy the perfumer's ointment, and cause it to give off a foul odor; so does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor."
— Ecclesiastes 10:1 (NKJV)

I've been sitting with this verse for a few days now, and it keeps catching me off guard. Dead flies in the perfumer's ointment. Such a small thing to ruin something so carefully made.

I think about how easy it is to build a reputation for honesty over years — and how quickly one small compromise can make people question all of it. Not a dramatic fall. Just a little folly. A sharp deal here. A shortcut there. The kind of thing I could justify to myself in the moment and almost forget by the next morning.

But God doesn't forget. He sees the whole transaction, not just the parts I'd want someone else to see.

I keep coming back to the Good Samaritan when I think about this. Jesus didn't tell that story to comfort people who already loved their neighbors easily. He told it to stretch the definition of "neighbor" until it included the person it would cost something to help. That convicts me. It's one thing to be fair with people I like. It's another thing entirely to be fair — generous, even — with someone I could easily take advantage of.

If I'm honest, that's the real test today. Not whether I'd cheat someone outright. I wouldn't. The test is subtler than that — whether I'm willing to leave a little on the table for someone else's sake, even when no one would notice if I didn't.

Ellen White's words here have stayed with me all week:

"Every act in connection with His work is to bear divine inspection. Every sharp transaction, every attempt to take advantage of persons who are under pressure of circumstances... will not be acceptable to God, even though the money gained is made an offering to His cause."

— Ellen G. White, The Review and Herald, December 18, 1894

That last part is what stings a little — that even gain given back to God's cause isn't acceptable if it was gotten through someone else's hardship. I can't separate how I get something from what I do with it afterward. God seems to care about both.

So today I'm asking myself: where in my dealings this week have I been generous, and where have I quietly looked out only for myself? If someone is struggling right now and I have any leverage in that situation, I want to use it gently — the way I'd want it used if the roles were reversed.

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🙏 Closing Prayer

Lord, search my heart today, not just my actions. Show me anywhere I've justified selfishness because it seemed small or because no one was watching. Teach me to deal honestly and generously, especially with people who couldn't fight back if I didn't. Let my integrity actually reflect You, not just protect my reputation. In Jesus' name, Amen.

— Kay, Abide Daily Ministry
🔗 abidedailyministry.org