How much do you care for the poor? It’s not an easy answer in part because it can be hard to actually define what being ‘poor’ means. Are you poor if you drive a car more than 10 years old or use a smartphone that is more than 3 years old? Are you poor if you cannot afford to eat in restaurants regularly? Must you be homeless to be poor? Most Americans, even those who are poor by our standard of living are relatively well off compared to many in developing nations in the world.
Rather than assign an economic measure I would say that an almost universal indicator of poverty is being ‘invisible person.’ For whatever reason, when a person is no longer seen, no longer given human worth, they have become poor. Now let ask the question again – how much do you care for the poor?
No one knowing even a little about what Jesus taught can miss
the fact that He cared deeply for those who were invisible, impoverished to the
point of becoming ‘worthless’ in the eyes of others.
Consider a teaching story He told …
“There was a
certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury.
At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. As Lazarus lay there longing
for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open
sores. Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with
Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and his soul went to the place
of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham.
“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here
to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in
anguish in these flames.’ “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during
your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he
is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. And besides, there is a great
chasm separating us. Anyone who wanted to cross over to you from here is
stopped at its edge, and no one there can cross over to us.’ “
Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, send him to my father’s home. For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them about this place of torment so they won’t have to come here when they die.’ “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to.’ “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’ “
But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”" (Luke 16:19-31, NLT)
Let’s get one erroneous conclusion out of the way quickly. The rich man was not condemned because of HIS WEALTH! Jesus pointed out his willful ignorance of the plight of a poor man who lay right at his doorstep. One of the main points of the story is that value in God’s eyes is vastly different from value in human eyes and in His grace, God makes possible a great reversal.
A man who had everything – the right clothing, the right
food, the right home – but who lacked a right heart loses it all.
In Jesus’ telling the poor man is named unlike the rich man. In this he is made
a person not just an object. His plight is terrible – a beggar, diseased, and
set upon by scavenging dogs. It is a horrific existence made worse by the fact
that relief was steps away, but denied by the blindness of the rich man. We
know nothing about the spiritual practice of Lazarus but we are told he entered
into paradise.
Note, too, just how entitled that rich man is even after death! He asks Father Abraham to send Lazarus to comfort him in his torment! He still thinks of himself as better than the poor beggar to whom he now ‘looks up’ to see.
Dear Christian, will you ask the Spirit to help you to see the poor, to give dignity to those denied it by the blindness and assumptions of others?
Jesus spoke often about caring for widows, orphans, and children – people who were often invisible, powerless, and living on the edge of survival in His time, mostly dependent on the charity of others. His message is consistent that pleasing God includes being aware of human need and caring enough to become involved.
He summarized His mission succinctly - "And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost.”" (Luke 19:10, NLT) Yes, we rightly understand He seeks those who are spiritually lost, reconciling them to His Father. But, a wider view of that statement, drawn from His earthly ministry, cannot ignore His care for the poor.
Indeed, in His announcement at the synagogue in Capernaum, He quoted the prophecy of Isaiah that says - " The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn." (Isaiah 61:1-2, NIV)
The first generations of Christians in the Roman Empire were noted for their care for the lowest, the least, the poor and powerless. Slaves were welcomed to their worship. Social distinctions were erased when one became a Christian. This was the inspired revelation that they experienced. "You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-29, NIV)
Can we practice the usual social discrimination of our
culture and claim to ‘in Christ?’
It is possible to allow ourselves to not see the poor – whatever the reason for
their poverty- and claim to like our Lord?
The questions beg our answer. Hopefully, we will take up the Call to care before we challenged by our Lord Jesus at the Day of Reckoning before His throne.
The word from the Word as I close comes from Proverbs 31. "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice." (Proverbs 31:8-9, NLT)
Amen.
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Video at https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55
