being poor

Helping the poor is regarded as a decent, good thing to do, especially poor children. poor adults can sometimes be blamed for their situation, but poor children are both victims of their situation and powerless to do anything about it.

Why is helping the poor a good thing to do? What is it about being poor that should evoke an emotion in us? What is so bad about being poor?

Just so you know: This is going to be a long read. It might not be suited for you. If you keep going, this is what you will find:

Matt 5 the Sermon on the Mount

Tevya If I Were a Rich Man

Why being poor is hard

Why the poor need help

In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus comforts the people by promising them things will be leveled out:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

A quick reading of the text seems to say that Jesus is the champion of the downtrodden but that one day God will make things right. That cannot be the correct explanation though, for Jesus would not promise a leveling of the field if there is a reason for things to be as they are. For instance, God sometimes punishes with hardship. The Son would not promise to undo what the Father has done. Nor would he promise to make things right artificially: by pulling people from a situation that they broke and need to fix.

When Jesus says "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven", he is not saying being poor is a bad thing that he will fix by making everyone rich. He is not promising to make things equal by enriching the poor and impoverishing the rich. Being poor is not so bad that God must intervene and being rich is not so bad that God must intervene.

The one thing we can say is that the poor need help and the rich don't. But even then we cannot say that Jesus is promising the poor in spirit the kingdom of heaven if the rich don't help them. We are left with the absurd possibility that the poor are deprived the kingdom if the rich share their wealth. A 50-50 split leaves the kingdom empty.

Showing mercy is an action that copies the mercy of God.

Being pure in heart is a quality that copies the character of Christ.

Being meek copies the life of John the Baptist and the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53.

It simply cannot be that being poor is something that God rewards when there is nothing in being poor that mirrors a quality in him or his Son. Yes, Jesus had no place to lay his head, but that does not mean he was poor.

When Tevye sings "If I were a rich man" he is not championing the cause of the poor in spirit. His dream is to be rich: so rich that he can waste money on stairs that go nowhere; so rich that even rich people come to him for advice.

If I were a rich man I wouldn't have to work hard

I'd build a big, tall house with rooms by the dozen Right in the middle of the town One long staircase just going up And one even longer coming down And one more leading nowhere, just for show

I'd fill my yard with chicks and turkeys and geese and ducks For the town to see and hear Squawking just as noisily as they can As if to say, "Here lives a wealthy man" The most important men in town would come to fawn on me! They would ask me to advise them like a Solomon the Wise Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes! And it won't make one bit of difference if I answer right or wrong When you're rich, they think you really know!

Would it spoil some vast eternal plan If I were a wealthy man?

Yes, it's just a fun song. It's not intended to be anything more an enjoyable romp in the loft. It's not real. It's music.

Fair enough. But it does illustrate the difference between a rich man and a poor man: money. One has it; one wants it. And yes, if would spoil some vast eternal plan.

Jesus does not promise the poor a kingdom where they will be will live like kings. He promises some people entrance to the kingdom and others not. Entrance into the kingdom is not the end of work and worry; it's being in the kingdom rather than not being in the kingdom.

The one characteristic of the kingdom above all others is that it's God's kingdom. The reason that's important is because he will not forever struggle with people who take his gifts and despise him for it, who make deals with him as if he is the stupidest person ever, who are selfish and hard to get along with and loud and bullying and argumentative and petty and cowardly, who hear but pay no attention. The kingdom is where God gets to be with people he enjoys.

The poor are not enjoyable to be with if they want to be rich. This flies in the face of everything we see in Scripture. Christ does not promise anyone a better life by putting them into a better world.

The difference between someone who is poor and someone who is poor in spirit is that the second one is poor on purpose. The person who is poor on purpose does not want to build a house in the middle of the town, just for show. The person who is poor on purpose is someone God can enjoy. The person who is poor on purpose is someone who takes care of the poor.

The person who is poor on purpose is not a victim. It is not a life stumbled into: it is a life taken on.