03.03. Nil Desperandum.

Nil Desperandum.

Luke 6:35. In one of the most practical sections of the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples to succor the needy, give to the beggar, and lend freely to those from whom no gain could be expected. Followers of Christ must not be content with the lower standards of others. Sinners love their friends, do good to those who do good to them, and "lend to sinners to receive again as much." To his disciples Jesus gave the following command and promise:

"Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest; for he is kind to the unthankful, and to the evil" (Luke 6:35, Common Version). The difficulty of an ideal.

While we are here dealing with ambiguities and difficulties in interpretation, it has to be allowed that the greatest difficulty with such a text is the loftiness of the ideal set before us. Which of us can truth fully claim to be carrying out in daily life, as we should, the principles of the Sermon on the Mount? We are told to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, "give to every man that asketh," and "as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Many unbelievers admire the Sermon on the Mount, but doubt its practicability for a world such as this. But what of Christians? Dare they dismiss the words of the Lord as impracticable, or neglect them in daily life? When we are tempted to disregard the teaching as too idealistic let us remember the solemn close of the Sermon. Our Lord said that whosoever hears and does "these sayings of mine" is wise and like a man who builds on the rock to the salvation of his house; while he who hears and does not is foolish as the man who was involved in inevitable ruin when the floods overwhelmed his house built on the sands. We use this illustration to convince sinners of the duty of primary obedience to the gospel; but let us not forget that the words were given in an address to disciples, and the warning is against our neglect of "these sayings" which include the difficult rules we have quoted. The general meaning.

There is no need to press Christ’s words to a grotesque extreme, as if with absolute literalness we should allow every hefty vagabond to despoil our goods, and should become the prey of every smooth liar who cares to pitch a tale and wheedle a gift or loan. But scarcely anyone is tempted to that extreme. We are all much more likely to do the opposite, and withhold our compassion and our gifts from the needy. After all, our Lord meant something. His rules about lending to the poor without hope of repayment cannot be dismissed by quoting the essentially worldly-wise advice of Polonius to his son:

We must not, in order to excuse ourselves, explain Christ’s words by explaining them away. It does not follow that we must either give a foolish interpretation to them, or, on the other hand, justify stinginess. We may be quite right in condemning indiscriminate charity given without care and examination; but we must he willing to sacrifice time and money for the helping of our fellows. Christ enjoins a constant willingness to "do good" to others; when gifts and loans will not do good but harm, then they are not enjoined upon us. Till then, as we have the ability, we must seek to help the poor and needy, as brethren of ours and of our Lord. We cannot at once be selfish and Christian.

"Hoping for nothing again."

It is one phrase, particularly, which brings Luke 6:35 into our present series. According to the Common Version, Jesus said: "Lend, hoping for nothing again." Our English Revised Version and the American Standard Revision both translate, "Lend, never despairing"; while both in the margin indicate that a slight variation in the Greek text of some manuscripts should be translated "despairing of no man." The words of the received text are "meedena apelpizontes" The marginal rendering follows the reading "meedena apelpizontes." All English versions prior to the Revised Version are said to have adopted the common view that "apelpizontes," a word used once only in the New Testament, means "hoping for in return." This rendering is based not on the meaning of the word elsewhere found, but on the supposed requirements of the context in Luke 6:1-49.

It is clear that "hoping for nothing again" both fits the context admirably, and makes quite good sense in itself. That it suits the context is easily seen. The Saviour in Luke 6:30 bids us to give, and adds, "Of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again." In Luke 6:34 he deprecates the lending "to them of whom ye hope to receive," saying that "even sinners lend to sinners, to receive again as much." An injunction to "lend, hoping for nothing again" would follow on very naturally. The advice, too, is good in itself. It forbids a practice and a spirit all too common. Men do good to get good. They give hospitality to receive greater hospitality. There are social aspirants who reduce to a fine art the throwing out of sprats to catch mackerels. The Lord Jesus forbids such practices absolutely to his disciples. Their benevolence must be disinterested. They work for no earthly advantage, no human approval, no repayment from men.

If any reader decides to stand by the common translation he need not feel either lonely or ashamed. Rotherham’s Emphasised Bible ("hoping for nothing back"), Weymouth’s New Testament in Modern Speech ("without hoping for any repayment"), and Moffatt’s New Translation ("without expecting any return") all harmonise with the reading of the Common Version; and it would be absurd for us to scorn such au array of authorities.

"Never despairing."

Yet we must express a preference for the reading of the Revised Version. Apparently Jesus really said, "Love your enemies, and do [them] good, and lend, never despairing." In his excellent "Word Studies," Vincent, referring to the original meaning of "apelpizo" ("to give up in despair"), calls attention to the use of the word in this sense in the Greek version of the Old Testament and in the Apocrypha. In 2Ma 9:18 we have "despairing of his health," and in Jdt 9:11 "a saviour of them that are without hope." The verb and its kindred adjective are used by medical writers to describe desperate cases of sickness. Milligan in his "Vocabulary of the Greek Testament" quotes a phrase describing the "faith cure" of a man who had been "given up." The disciple in his good work is never to give up in despair. How often we wonder if we are wasting time on things and folk? What Christian worker but has occasionally asked, "Is this thing worth the effort? In helping people who will neither appreciate nor respond, it is easy to despair. We may think that our time is wasted, the money we give is wholly lost, and the man we assist is beyond recovery. But Christ says: "Do good," "lend, never despairing." It is a needed lesson. "As it stands it gives this sense, ’Lend, and though appearances may be unfavorable, despair not of being repaid,’ because you are lending not to man only, but to the Lord,’ who will assuredly repay what you have laid out." Your charity has in it a hope of profitable return, not on earth, perhaps, but certainly from your heavenly Father, whose recompense never fails.

If "meedena" be the right reading, then "despairing of no one" doubtless is the correct rendering, though some competent scholars declare that with this reading the meaning would be "causing no one to despair" by refusing aid. While this translation does not commend itself to us, it illustrates once more the familiar fact that excellent lessons attach themselves to varying renderings and readings.

Dr. G. R. Bliss, the Baptist commentator, has an interesting note on "never despairing." This, he says, "gives a better text than the Common Version, for charity sermons; but let anniversary preachers and the representatives of benevolent institutions note how and where the reward for Christian benevolence is to be paid. The Saviour’s compensation for service to him, and sacrifices in his cause, is better than worldly good, it is an increase of the spirit of beneficence and sacrifice to all eternity."

Sir George Trevelyan paid a fine tribute to the character of Zachary Macaulay, father of the more famous Lord Macaulay. After speaking of "the unwearied patience with which he managed the colonies of negroes at Sierra Leone," he remarked: "He was not fretted by the folly of others, or irritated by their hostility, because he regarded the humblest or the worst of mankind as objects, equally with himself, of the divine love and care." How excellently this suits our Lord’s words in Luke 6 can be seen by any reader. As we are tempted to despair of others, let us remember how we must all appear in the sight of God, how wayward and unresponsive. "He is kind toward the unthankful and evil," and we are but asked to imitate him to the extent of our ability. To quote Dr. G. R. Bliss once more: "How few of all the race of men could have lived and had opportunity of happiness, had their Creator and Preserver looked for worthiness and gratitude, not to say recompense, in them!"