What do you have in the house?

2 Kings 4:1-7 (King James Version)


1Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.  2And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.  3Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.
4And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.  5So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out.  6And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed.   7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest

I recently rediscovered this Scripture, the story of the widow's oil, and I read it with new eyes, or perhaps, a new heart.  I am not a Biblical scholar or theologian.  I am just a Christian mom and an American citizen who is searching for guidance in these troubled times. 

God tells us the story of a single mother, deeply in debt and on the verge of losing everything.  She goes to her late husband's friend, Elisha, and seeks his help for her problem.  Elisha does not open his wallet and give her money, he does not go to her neighbor and take it from him, he does not send her to the government to sign up for welfare and he does not ask her creditors to modify her loans.  He simply asks her, "What do you have in the house?"  By asking her this question, he is making her assess her situation from a new perspective. 

She didn't think she had much, just a pot of oil.  Elisha laid out for her a business plan.  She needed containers.  Elisha didn't have her go get a loan to buy containers, he instead had her go to her friends and neighbors and ask for the use of their extra containers.  Now, she had her product and her packaging.  What Elisha told her next is truly profound to me - he told her to go with her sons into her home and close the door.  She was to proceed on her own, no partners, no unions, no Small Business Administration, just her and her family and her faith.  It was important to Elisha that she do this on her own.  She and her sons began production, pouring the oil into the containers until they were all filled.  Now, her product was ready for distribution.  Elisha told her to go out into the marketplace and sell her product.  She was able to pay her debts and provide for her family.

What I get from this story is the proper definition of help.  God is reminding me that we all already possess everything we need to not only provide for ourselves and our families, but to truly prosper.  It is inherent in us, we were created with it.  We all go through tough times and lose sight of what we have, our talents and blessings.  It is in these times that we need to change our perspective, find a new way of looking at things, not stick our hand out.  The woman in this story came out of her situation not only with the ability to provide for her family, but I'm sure with a new self-confidence and sense of dignity.  I see her standing straighter and her sons, her neighbors and her creditors respecting her.  Elisha gave her the best help of all.  He gave her a plan, a vision, then he got out of her way.  She got to own her success rather than trading one form of creditor for another.

Considering this Scripture has reaffirmed  my belief that the welfare system in this country is wrong.  It does not give the poor a plan for getting out of their circumstances, it gives them food and shelter and takes from them their dignity and their dreams.  As government gets bigger and does more for us (or to us) in the form of health care, energy rationing, etc., our national dignity will get smaller.  God gave us everything we need as individuals to not only take care of ourselves but to make the world the place He intended it to be and surrendering these gifts to anyone, especially the government, is the greatest national tragedy we could ever face. 

It also reaffirms my belief in free enterprise.  He laid out a plan for a successful business.   Start with what you have.  Start small.  Believe in yourself.  Provide a product that your customers need.  Enjoy the fruits of your labor.  No where in this story did the woman take something from anyone else or turn over her profits to anyone else.  Redistribution is nowhere in the mix. 

As we continue to face tough economic times and a government that seeks to steal from us in our fear, I will remember the story of the widow's oil and change my perspective.  The next time I see someone needing help, I'll ask, "What do you have in the house?"  I hope that you will do the same.