God addressed what His people were to do if they accidentally left some of their harvest in the field:
"When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands" (Deuteronomy 24:19).
When produce was left in the field, the poor could then glean the leftovers, and God promised to bless the farmer who left the crops in the field, even though leaving it there was an oversight. Earlier in this study, we saw that God commanded this less-than-total harvest to occur as a strategy to care for the poor:
“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the foreigner. I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:9-10).
How can you apply this principle today in your purpose and creativity? You're not going to be able to make money from all that you do—and that's okay. When you share a testimony on social media, you're leaving it "out there" for others to gather, learn from, and enjoy. When you make your creativity accessible through public viewings and other means, you're enabling people to enjoy and benefit from the gift God has given you at no cost to them. When you invest in making yourself better at who you are and what you do, without thinking of how you can make more money from your investment, you're allowing others to glean from the field of your gift or talent.
Are you only putting yourself out for hire and pay, or do you have a strategy of how you can share some of who you are and what you do with others at no cost to them? Are you willing to allow God to bring others to you who will enjoy what you do and be encouraged or blessed by it? Are you willing to be more public and less private? Keep in mind what Jesus said in Matthew 10:8b, "Freely you have received; freely give" and then make a way for others to benefit from who God has made you to be—especially the poor.
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