Galatians 2:10
“Only
they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”
Poor is not a word we use much in our Christian culture, for
calling someone poor seems to be somewhat demeaning, so they are referred to as
the under resourced. If we look at the
root cause of the poor or the under resourced, you will find much that
contributes to why so many end up in this group; and it seems that one of the
main causes is greed, power, and control of this group of people. And where are these three elements found most
in our culture, it is in government? Governments
all over the world from the beginning have used greed, power, and control to
keep a large group of people as the underclass or the poor.
One of the best examples of how one breaks the system is Rafael Cruz, born in Cuba under
a dictator, and he arrived in Texas with the clothes on his back and one
hundred dollars, and got a job as a dishwasher at 50 cents an hour. Worked his way through the University of
Texas while learning English. He not only
built a small business, but also is the proud father of Ted Cruz a United
States Senator from the great state of Texas.
Yes, government under the control of evil men will steal, kill, and
destroy, but government cannot kill the spirit of anyone who is willing to look
to God as their provider, and desires to work hard and smart to change their circumstances.
But there are other reasons people stay poor, and one is a
lack of zeal; many who once had a dream of rising above the status of under resourced,
have allowed apathy and ignorance to control them, they look for handouts from
mankind, it may come in the form of government aid, or from some other group
that is open to giving aid.
As followers of Christ, our goal should be to give aid to
widows and orphans, and to the under resourced, but not so they become
dependent, but always with the goal of showing them how to look to Jesus as
their source. I believe that many who go
by the name Christian have a distain for the poor, and have put them in the
category of freeloaders or worse, and are not willing to invest in them. And then the Church blames government for the
many programs that have the effect of bringing such people into and under the
control of government. And we have seen
the end game of government programs; they rob the one receiving such programs
of their dignity, the desire of being a provider, and give them an entitlement
mentality that leads to looking to government and not to God.
I have great distain for anyone who robs a man or women of
their dignity, who uses handouts to control or manipulate another person, and I
do believe the government of the United States is doing that at this time. With that said, where is the Church? Have we forgotten the fundamentals of
Scripture; to give is better than to receive?
Do we believe God is faithful to His written Word, and that He will
always keep His promises? If so, my
brother and sister in Christ, listen to Proverbs 19:17, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord,
and he will reward him for what he has done.” Do you recall the fine, and upstanding young rich
man who came to Jesus and wanted to know what he needed to do to be
perfect? Then you will recall this
Scripture in Matthew 19:21& 22, “Jesus said to him,
“If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had
great possessions.” Could it be that the Church,
and let me remind you that is you and me, may have the same problem as the
young man in the story, our possessions have become little gods that are
keeping us from receiving what the Lord desires to give us?
Form
the Back Porch,
Bob
Rice
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