Tobit 4:1-16: a reflection

1In that day Tobit remembered the money which he had left in trust with Gabael in Rages of Media, 2and he said to himself, I have asked for death; why do I not call my son Tobias, that I may explain to him about the money before I die? 3And he called him, and said, “My child, if I die, bury me. Don’t despise your mother. Honor her all the days of your life, and do that which is pleasing to her, and don’t grieve her. 4Remember, my child, that she has seen many dangers for you, when you were in her womb. When she is dead, bury her by me in one grave. 5My child, be mindful of the Lord our God all your days, and don’t let your will be set to sin and to transgress his commandments: do righteousness all the days of your life, and don’t follow the ways of unrighteousness. 6For if you do what is true, your deeds will prosperously succeed for you, and for all those who do righteousness. 7Give alms from your possessions. When you give alms, don’t let your eye be envious. Don’t turn away your face from any poor man, and the face of God won’t be turned away from you. 8As your possessions are, give alms of it according to your abundance. If you have little, don’t be afraid to give alms according to that little; 9for you lay up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity; 10because alms-giving delivers from death, and doesn’t allow you to come into darkness. 11Alms is a good gift in the sight of the Most High for all that give it. 12Beware, my child, of all fornication, and take first a wife of the seed of your fathers. Don’t take a strange wife, who is not of your father’s tribe; for we are the descendants of the prophets. Remember, my child, that Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our fathers of old time, all took wives of their kindred, and were blessed in their children, and their seed will inherit the land. 13And now, my child, love your kindred, and don’t scorn your kindred and the sons and the daughters of your people in your heart, to take a wife of them; for in scornfulness is destruction and much trouble, and in idleness is decay and great lack; for idleness is the mother of famine. 14Don’t let the wages of any man who works for you wait with you, but give it to him out of hand. If you serve God, you will be rewarded. Take heed to yourself, my child, in all your works, and be discreet in all your behavior. 15And what you yourself hate, do to no man. Don’t drink wine to drunkenness, and don’t let drunkenness go with you on your way. 16Give of your bread to the hungry, and of your garments to those who are naked. Give alms from all your abundance. Don’t let your eye be envious when you give alms.

In this passage, Tobit, thinking he is near death, gives his son Tobias a father's counsel for a godly life. Much of it centers on generosity to the poor: give alms from what you have, he urges, whether you have much or little; do not turn your face from any poor person, and God will not turn his face from you. And he adds a principle that echoes through Scripture: what you yourself hate, do to no one. It is warm, practical wisdom for living rightly before God and among people.

Notice the heart of Tobit's counsel: generosity to the poor, and doing to others as we would have done to us. Give alms according to what you have, he says, whether much or little; do not let a small store keep you from giving, nor let your eye be envious when you give. And treat others as you would be treated: what you hate, do to no one. This is not lofty theory, but the practical shape of a life lived rightly before God, marked by generosity and by regard for others.

That counsel is as practical for us as it was for Tobias. We too are called to generosity toward those in need, giving from what we have, whether much or little, without an envious or grudging eye; and to treat others as we would be treated, doing to no one what we ourselves would hate. Take Tobit's fatherly counsel to heart: be generous to the poor, according to what you have, not waiting until you have much; and let the simple rule guide your dealings, to do to no one what you would hate done to you. A life lived rightly before God is marked by such practical goodness: open-handed generosity, and treating others with the regard you would want for yourself. Live so, as Tobit urged his son to live.

Lord, in this passage Tobit, thinking he is near death, counsels his son to a godly life: give alms from what you have, whether much or little, without an envious eye; do not turn your face from any poor person; and what you yourself hate, do to no one. Help me take that fatherly counsel to heart, for it is as practical for me as for Tobias. I too am called to generosity toward those in need, giving from what I have, whether much or little, without a grudging eye; and to treat others as I would be treated, doing to no one what I myself would hate. Help me be generous to the poor, according to what I have, not waiting until I have much; and let the simple rule guide my dealings, to do to no one what I would hate done to me. A life lived rightly before you is marked by such practical goodness: open-handed generosity, and treating others with the regard I would want for myself. Help me live so, Lord, as Tobit urged his son to live. Make me generous and kind in the ordinary dealings of my life.