He who oppresses the poor to increase his own wealth and he who gives gifts to the rich— Both lead to poverty. ~Proverbs 22:16
Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the Lord will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them. ~Proverbs 22:23-24
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and He will say: “here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and the malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. ~Isaiah 58:6-11 |
My friends, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. If you show special attention to the one wearing fine clothes…have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen….has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?...If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the by the law as law breakers. ~James 2:1-&-3-5-&8-9
My first thought as I read through the passages for today was: how many of our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world are truly poor? How many have been impoverished for the sake of the gospel? Read through these passages again, imagining the poor to mean the persecuted church and we are the ones being warned because we are so much better off than them. Do you find reading with that framework truly humbling? I do.
We all, who are in Christ, have brothers and sisters who are poor. They are part of our family. When I learn of what they endure for Christ, I am humbled. The fact that I often need to be reminded puts me to shame. Many of them live in countries in which the “justice,” system is stacked against them, yet they cling to Jesus. They are dragged into court on baseless charges and often lose the legal battle. They are imprisoned unfairly. They do have their goods and property taken from them, yet they remain steadfast.
To them, Jesus offers so much more than physical comfort, family security and employment security. Sometimes I wonder if I love Christ that much? Yet, what a comfort to know that God never takes His eyes off of them. When we care for them, He is pleased. They will never be able to pay us back for whatever concern and compassion that we offer, but it warms God’s heart to know that we know and care.
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? “Listen….has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?”
This does not mean that everyone who is poor is rich in faith, but certainly, our brothers and sisters in Christ have a faith that is worth more than what they could have in the seen world. If they chose to walk away from the faith, they could have more of material comfort. But keeping the faith is more precious than earthly comfort. Yesterday, we talked about being blinded by the seen world. It is something to consider as we examine ourselves.
Are there things that we cling to that block our growth in Christ? Are there things that we could learn from those who are truly enduring? We are tempted to beg God for their deliverance and that is a good thing, but what if they are suffering to demonstrate for us that evil does truly exist? What if their suffering puts on display the spiritual warfare that we trivialize? What if their suffering is serving as a demonstration of not only what may be upon us some day, but what if they, in their poverty, are setting the example for us to follow and learn from as they follow and depend upon Christ? What if their suffering is intended to awaken us to the need for prayer? What if they became a people that we could no longer ignore? What if we could be the answer to their prayers?
Prayer: Father, it is true that compared to most of the people of earth, Americans are wildly wealthy! Forgive me for any lack of awareness of what else I might sacrifice to help my Christian brothers and sisters. They may be far away, but they still should be near and dear to my heart. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Follow You
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