Poverty and Us and the Church

Podcast #3

 2 Corinthians 5:21 - “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

What is so great about this is I can be free of sin’s penalty - through Jesus’s finished work and work with God towards being free of sin’s affects in my everyday life and “become” the righteousness of God in Him. It will always be ‘in Him.’ The in Him - Part - is My position of course - but the ability too - to over come and become righteous. The strength, the will to be righteous in a world where that is not rewarded.

Think about this a minute - do we really know what is righteous?

We can guess the easy things - don’t lie - don’t commit adultery or use God’s name in vain and honor your father and mother. The Ten Commandments.

But what bout the poor. Feeding and clothing and housing those who are in poverty. Or are they just the sad minorities in the urban centers far from our own realm of possibility to help?

Thankfully I know of good and solid Christian churches and ministries who are in the inner city helping take care of the poor and giving them the good news of Jesus. But we must focus on the neighbor that is in front of us. Those who live near and around us. That is our responsibility.

Now before we get the idea that poor people are those who are minorities - as portrayed in the media - we must look at the facts. 

Now obviously there are more white people than any other ethnic group in the U.S. But did you know that there are for more white people who are also in poverty than black people? Did you know there are 20 million children in poverty in the U.S.? Do you know when compared to industrialized nations in the world we have a national tragedy on our hands? I am not here to debate the political reasons for this problem. I am interested in two things…

#1 what does the Bible say about the poor

#2 what should be our response?

From there - we can think creatively and think sacrificially about what we must do as individuals and as the corporate body - to help the poor among us. 

Can we admit that we look through lenses that are distorted to some degree by our background - by our prejudice - by our own experience - by what the media tells us? 

What if we have blind spots in our lenses? 

That is the reason for a “reasoned approach” to this subject. 

One of the reason for this podcast is to have reasoning - something I believe is a gift of God - an ability he has hardwired into us - to have our reasoning salted with truth. Of course I believe that ultimate truth for us is found in God’s Word. I would also posit that His Word sometimes surprises us. We talked about this on Sunday in Ephesians 5 and Paul’s injunctions about family and especially regarding the issue of slavery - That God in this letter was pulling the rug out from slavery - if slave masters gave up their right to threaten their slaves - then their ability to hold them in fear would be lost and they would truly cease to be slaves. If a master was to do good will service to their slaves - even if it came as a response to a testimony of a slave that brought about his change of heart - slavery would end. No politics enter into this because politics can pass laws but cannot change human hearts. God’s word accomplishes that - truth does that. 

The Bible & Poverty

Deuteronomy 15: 7-11 Don’t harden your heart towards the poor

7 “If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs. 9 Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the Lord against you, and it become sin among you. 10 You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. 11 For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’

Exodus 22:25-27 - He who lends to the poor must do so interest free

25 “If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest. 26 If you ever take your neighbor’s garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down. 27 For that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he cries to Me, I will hear, for I am gracious.

Leviticus 25:35-38 - Nation charged with caring for the poor

35 ‘If one of your brethren becomes poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. 36 Take no usury or interest from him; but fear your God, that your brother may live with you. 37 You shall not lend him your money for usury, nor lend him your food at a profit. 38 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.

Psalm 68:9-10 - God Himself provides for the poor in the nation

9 You, O God, sent a plentiful rain,

Whereby You confirmed Your inheritance,

When it was weary.

10 Your congregation dwelt in it;

You, O God, provided from Your goodness for the poor.

Psalm 72 - in the Kingdom of God the poor will be taken care of 

12 For He will deliver the needy when he cries,

The poor also, and him who has no helper.

13 He will spare the poor and needy,

And will save the souls of the needy.

14 He will redeem their life from oppression and violence;

And precious shall be their blood in His sight.

Psalm 140:12-13 - God maintains the “cause” of the afflicted seeks “justice” for the poor

12 I know that the Lord will maintain

The cause of the afflicted,

And justice for the poor.

13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;

The upright shall dwell in Your presence.

Proverbs 10:4-5 - Personal Responsibility

4 He who has a slack hand becomes poor,

But the hand of the diligent makes rich.

5 He who gathers in summer is a wise son;

He who sleeps in harvest is a son who causes shame.

Proverbs 10:15 - The rich are protected but the poor cannot afford protection

15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city;

The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

Proverbs 14:31 - IF YOU OPPRESS THE POOR YOU DO IT TO GOD!

31 He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,

But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.

How do these things affect your thinking on this issue?

We have not talked about a curse on a people for oppressing the poor in Amos

We have not even got to what Jesus says about going an extra mile or giving your shirt 

We have not talked about prejudice that leads to disregard for the poor in James - 

But we have a definition of pure and undefiled religion in that letter - and serves as a precursor against partiality in the next section James 1:27 says… Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

NLT SAYS IT THIS WAY:Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.