36.2 Be Hospitable, Use Your Talents

(1 Peter 4:8-10)

Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. Open your homes to each other without complaining. Each one, as a good manager of God’s different gifts, must use for the good of others the special gift he has received from God.

36.1 After Being Mistreated By Them, Joseph Was Hospitable To His Brothers

(Genesis 43:31-34)

After he had washed his face, he came out, and controlling himself, he ordered the meal to be served. Joseph was served at one table and his brothers at another. The Egyptians who were eating there were served separately, because they considered it beneath there dignity to eat with Hebrews. The brothers had been seated at the table, facing Joseph, in the order of their age from the oldest to the youngest. When they saw how they had been seated, they looked at one another in amazement. Food was served five times as much as the rest of them. So they ate and drank with Joseph until they were drunk.

35.4 It Is Good To Live As Brothers

(Psalm 133)

How wonderful it is, how pleasant,
for God’s people to live together in harmony!
It is like the precious anointing oil
running down from Aaron’s head and beard,
down to the collar of his robes.
It is like the dew on Mount Hermon,
falling on the hills of Zion.
That is where the Lord has promised his blessing—
life that never ends.

35.3 Have The Same Attitude To All

(Romans 12:9-21)

Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as Christian brothers, and be eager to show respect for one another. Work hard and do not be lazy. Serve the Lord with a heart full of devotion. Let your hope keep you joyful, be patient in your troubles, and pray at all times. Share your belongings with your needy fellow Christians, and open your homes to strangers.

Ask God to bless those who persecute you—yes, ask him to bless, not to curse. Be happy with those who are happy, weep with those who weep. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.

If someone has done wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good. Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody. Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God’s anger do it. For the scripture says, “I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord.“ Instead, as the scripture says: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for by doing this you will make him burn with shame.” Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.

35.2 Invite The Poor And The Cripple

(Luke 14:12-14)

Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors--for they will invite you back, and in this way you will be paid for what you did. When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind and you will be blessed, because they are not able to pay you back. God will repay you on the day the good people rise from death.”