In Luke 19, after entering the city of Jericho, Jesus came upon a man named Zaccheus. An unscrupulous wealthy tax collector, who because of his dishonest collection methods, was the most despised man in his city.
To the annoyance of the Jewish people, Jesus decided to dine at his home that night. When Christ's plans became widely known, the throngs of people which had become a parade, now quickly dispersed. They couldn't believe that out of all the homes from which Jesus could choose to eat, He would prefer the most hated sinner in the city. However, when Christ's presence inspired Zaccheus' repentance-- motivating Zach to give half of his possessions to the poor and repaying everyone he had defrauded, "four times as much"-- I imagine the town, having now experienced what was tantamount to an economic revival, was looking for more sinners with whom Jesus could dine.
Today, let's take our cue from Zaccheus and see how we can intentionally let our repentant life benefit the people in our neighborhood? Live right, live well...
