The subject of poverty is difficult to discuss. Many of us have our minds made up about its causes and remedies, and that makes it challenging for us to hear or accept different perspectives on the issue. Some of us have grown up in a state of poverty, and that makes it a sensitive issue for us personally. Some of us have never experienced poverty, and because of that, we may wrestle with a sense of guilt or a desire to alleviate the poverty of others because we feel shame for not having endured similar experiences.
Poverty can be challenging to discuss in the church as well, for some of these same reasons. Most churches have some sort of program or system to address poverty. Those programs tend to work best when they are applied to people who accept help while being honest about their situation and allowing themselves to experience some level of community and accountability with others.
Quite frequently, the programs churches have put together to help the poor are taken advantage of. Believe it or not, in my decades as a pastor, the majority of calls we received were from people asking for money. Most of the time, their requests were not sincere. Often, it would come to light that the people making those requests were spending more time calling churches and creating elaborate and untrue stories of financial hardship than they were spending time working.
Many of us who have experienced financial hardships have a genuine desire to help those who are in need, and Scripture encourages us to do that, but what's the best approach to take? Do different circumstances require different approaches? When you're offering financial assistance to someone, do you want to know if their need is real or if you're being swindled because that person has a wicked and destructive plan for the use of your gift?
When it comes to poverty, there are three ways I look at it. I believe there's a form of financial poverty you can't control, and in those instances, I think followers of Christ should do their best to step up and meet those needs. I also believe there's a form of financial poverty you can control, and since you have the power to control it, you should do everything you can to step up and meet your own needs. And in addition to financial poverty, Jesus addressed the greatest poverty of all, spiritual poverty. Ultimately, only He can meet that need.
When the psalmist described a person of character in Psalm 112:9, and how he responded to poverty, he commented, "He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor." I love the example of godly compassion we're given in this passage.
This psalm describes the blessing of helping those who are dealing with the kind of poverty they can't control. Situations like that arise all the time. We're all probably familiar with forms of poverty that have come upon people suddenly because of tragedy, illness, natural disasters, or unforeseen personal circumstances. Mature believers see these moments as opportunities to demonstrate the compassion of Christ.
““Nothing that you have not given away will ever really be yours.” ”
Several months ago, friends of ours were sitting at home when a tornado formed and completely obliterated their property. Their entire house was ripped apart, down to the foundation. None of it was left standing and everyone was physically injured. By God's grace, they all survived, and it has been a beautiful thing to see the church step up to help them with housing, food, and financial help as they've been trying to rebuild their lives.
Scripture is clear that the Lord Himself looks with compassion on the needs of those who are materially or financially destitute. His desire is to see His children mirror His compassionate heart by meeting needs as best as they can. As we're told in Proverbs 31:8-9, "Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy." It's God's desire that we defend the rights of the poor, notice their needs, and attempt to alleviate their suffering.
““To me, a faith in Jesus Christ that is not aligned with the poor...it’s nothing.” ”
I think we can proactively serve the poor in multiple ways. When the Lord blesses us, we can be generous with those blessings. When the Lord gives us the opportunity to speak up on someone else's behalf, we can and should. The Lord may even inspire us to organize programs and ministries to help groups of people on a larger scale. My heart is genuinely warmed when I see believers step up to meet needs like these.
But what should we do when we encounter the kind of poverty that can be controlled? How should we respond to poverty that comes about, not because of uncontrollable circumstances, but because of recklessness, irresponsibility, sloth, deceit or the rejection of wisdom? I think we have an obligation to help in those areas as well. We can pray. We can educate. And we can stop enabling ungodly behavior.
We live in an interesting period of history. During most periods of history, if you were living in poverty, there wasn't much of a social safety net to help you. Apart from the church, your family, or a compassionate stranger, you didn't have many options to help if you hit hard times. In the present day, however, assisting the poor has become a duty we've come to expect our governmental systems to handle. We've accepted the premise that it's the government's responsibility to fix these problems, but from what you've seen, is that approach working?
I would contend that many of our governmental systems that were established under the premise of helping the poor are actually making poverty worse. They're creating more poverty. Some of those systems financially subsidize the destruction of the nuclear family, reward laziness, and encourage crime and community blight. And sadder still is that there are leaders who keep promising more and more of this in the hopes that the unethical distribution of unearned money will help them obtain votes so they can remain in power longer. It's wicked, and instead of actually helping, these programs and systems seem to be keeping "the poor" poor instead of lifting them out of poverty.
““I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion about the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.” ”
Scripture speaks about the poverty that we can control in very stark terms. It often equates it with laziness, lack of ambition, and poor character.
““Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.””
““A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” ”
The church should be known for our love, not for our laziness. It should never be able to be said of us that we spent our lives napping even though the Lord gave us opportunities and abilities to serve and contribute. But unfortunately, the mindset of this world can easily creep into the church if we aren't careful. The Apostle Paul felt the need to address that very problem when he wrote to the Thessalonians.
"Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. 9 It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. 11 For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. 12 Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living."
(2 Thes. 3:6-12)
We can't control how the rest of the world chooses to live their lives, but we can exercise Spirit-empowered self-control that enables us to demonstrate a Christ-honoring work ethic that helps us earn the resources we need to meet the needs of our family, financially support the work the Lord is doing in this world, and compassionately assist the poor in constructive ways. I believe this is the biblical pattern toward work that Paul was encouraging the Thessalonians to embrace, and I believe it's a pattern we should embrace as well.
But even if you work ethically, earn honestly, and give generously, please understand the fact that there's a form of poverty that impacts us all. None of us are an exception. Apart from the intervention of Christ in our lives, we were steeped in a form of spiritual poverty that no effort, work, or industriousness on our part could have ever lifted us out of. Only the intervention of Jesus moves us from spiritual poverty to spiritual life and the abundance of grace.
““For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” ”
Please deeply consider what Jesus came to this earth to do. One way to summarize His mission is to say He came to help the poor. But how did He help, and what form of poverty was He ultimately concerned with?
Apart from Christ's intervention, we are spiritually bankrupt. We have no true righteousness of our own to present to God. We are living distant from Him, enamored with ourselves, seeking the best of this fallen world with no real thought for eternity. We become so focused on earthly treasures that we think the best way for us to live a good life is to get more of them, and then we reinforce that by acting like the greatest solution to the world's problems is to throw money at our issues and pretend that's all that needs to be done.
If the real solution we needed was money, God would have just dumped a bunch of gold from the sky. If our deepest need was food, He would have sent a buffet. If our greatest need was housing, He would have sent us shelter. God knows we need those things on this earth, but He also knows that these are all temporary solutions for temporary circumstances. What we really needed was a Savior, so God the Father sent us Jesus.
Jesus is the solution for our spiritual poverty. When you trust in Him, you'll become rich in grace, your greatest hunger will be satisfied, and you'll be granted a permanent home in His kingdom that can never be damaged by weather or repossessed by a bank.
““In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” ”
Christ came to this earth because His compassionate heart couldn't stand the thought of you living in spiritual poverty forever. Receive Him by faith and your spirit will never truly be poor again.
© John Stange, 2022
