Time magazine has a feature they call “Lexicon” and since I am such a lover of words, I usually read the little article each week. A while back, they coined this term, “Putpockets” as a new noun. On usage, they commented, “Visitors to London always have to be on the lookout for pickpockets, but now there’s another, more positive phenomenon on the loose…putpockets. Aware that people are suffering during the economic crisis, 20 former pickpockets are now trawling London’s tourist sites slipping money back into unsuspecting pockets.”

This concept is similar to the fundraising idea of “pay it forward,” where those of us who have been recipients of good fortune provide that same blessing to the next generation or group coming down the pike. An example might be parents who have enjoyed the donated blessings of gifts given by those who went before them and they now pass those same blessings on to the next set of parents.

Whether it is pickpockets becoming “putpockets” or parents “paying it forward” this is an important Biblical concept that is worthy to consider this week. Blessed people should be blessing others.

Consider Luke 12:49, “…From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

Many of us are a lot like the little boy in John 6. We don’t have a lot to offer. He only had five barley loaves and two small fishes. You may only have a few dollars left at the end of the month. But in both cases, when what we have is offered to the Lord, He can (and will!) take it, bless it and make it a blessing for others.

We probably won’t go around town this week slipping dollars into the pockets of folks passing by, but we can look for a way to help. Next time you go through a fast food drive through, pay for the car behind you. Or next time you are in line at Starbucks think about your co-workers and get them some too. Or slip a few gift certificates into your neighbor’s mail box (be careful, come to think of it that may be against the law). Or next time you are in the aisle at the grocery store with diapers, stop and thank the Lord you don’t need them any more…and buy a sack or two for a friend. Or remember the donor who provided that seat/pew/table/chair that you and your family enjoy at church or school and pay ahead for someone else to enjoy next time around.

“Putpockets”…Blessed people should be blessing others!

Warmest regards in Christ,

Sherry L. Worel

Stoneybrooke Christian Schools