What Are Our Obligations to the Poor?
April 14, 2010
Dear Friends,
For the past several weeks we have been talking about doctrines that are not typically considered critical, yet have power in the way that we think, worship and live our lives. This topic is really the last in this series, but the subject is so tangled and far- reaching that it needs to be taken separately. The question before us in this doctrine is simple: As a believer in Jesus, what are our obligations to the poor? This appears to be a very simple, straightforward question, doesn't it? Yet, depending on who you talk to, you will get a wide variety of answers.
Many years ago, I was working with a brother to establish a new outreach program for our ecclesia. We had traditionally done the typical public lectures with the typical dismal results. I suggested a new plan for us to reach out to the community in the areas of their pain. Instead of another lecture, why didn't we reach out to the poor as our ecclesial hall was within a short walk of several low income neighborhoods? We could help feed and cloth them in addition to giving them godly counsel on how to better their lives. The argument put back to me was that we had a unique doctrinal message to give to world and that we should let the other churches handle things like feeding the poor. As a result, our outreach program didn't include any programs to help the poor.
This reasoning appears to have many adherents. There are simply not that many organizations like Meal-a-Day or the Shunem Home whose primary mission is to tend to the poor and needy outside of the household itself.
So let me ask a few questions to see if we can see the problem before us and then we can move toward answering them. If you are willing, take them to meeting or a Bible class and ask them to others to see the array of answers you will get. You can really have an interesting Bible class built around these questions. These questions are designed to get us thinking about the topic but also to demonstrate that the "easy" question I asked before is not so simple after all.
- Is helping the poor a) a commandment, b) a nice, but optional thing to do or c) not necessary?
- In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the religious leaders (the priest and the Levite) walked on by the man in need. When we, as believers in Jesus, see things like the earthquake in Haiti or the victims of the tsunami, and do nothing, are we equally guilty of "walking on by" or is that only for local situations? What is the right thing to do when you see the man at the intersection holding the sign that says "Will work for food?"
- What is the definition of the poor? Does it change from country to country? How do we manage our limited resources in a godly way in a world that has so many needs?
- What is the right balance between preaching, helping the poor, doing right by your own family and your ecclesia?
- How do we balance the commandments to "take heed that ye do not your alms before men" with the admonition to "let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works?"
- When Jesus interacted with the poor was he setting an example for us to follow or was his mission dissimilar to our own?
- Is it a good thing to help the poor without also sharing the Gospel message?
- If we are not careful, can we actually hurt the poor when we are trying to help them? Does the "right way" to help the poor vary depending on the situation?
- Does our personal position on our obligations to the poor have implications on our own use of personal resources, attitudes, preaching, worship and relation with our Lord?
- If we had our choice to go to a Bible class or feed the poor, which would Jesus want us to choose?
This is just the tip of the iceberg really. However, it should be a good place to start. We'll start answering these questions, Lord willing, next week.
Have a great week,
Comments»
Hi Bro. Kyle,
Thanks for the article. I did have a somewhat different impression on the account of the costly oil, in that while Matthew & Mark generalize the reaction of the disciples, John, who seems to comment on it most precisely, identifies Judas as the source of the grumbling about the cost of the oil. And John specifically attributes the motive behind the comment to his habit of pilfering from their funds. Not to say that the group didn’t habitually help the poor financially, as it also says that when he dismissed Judas from the supper the others assumed he’d been sent to give something to the poor.
Though one has to wonder how often, when Judas left the group ‘to give some money to the poor’, that money actually made it into the hands of those for whom it was intended….
in the one hope,
Kevin
Kevin,
You are right that Judas was one of the disciples that was grumbling, but the grumbling is plural (“But when his DISCIPLES saw it, THEY had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?”). If it was only Judas, I believe the generalization would have been singular. I therefore impute honest motives to the others while we are told, as you point out, Judas’ sinful motive. You are right to point out that some of the money might not have made it to the intended recepients. Jesus wouldn’t have been hoodwinked so it begs the question why did Jesus allow Judas to do this. Perhaps another topic for another day.
Thanks for your comment!
Thanks Kyle, that last comment was more off the top of my head while I was looking that passage over, and the same question you mention crossed my mind. My thought is that if John new that Judas used to take the funds, maybe it was known among the group but they didn’t want to mention it to Christ, letting him take the lead on taking action on it. And in Christ’s relationship with us now, he gives us plenty of rein, because I believe that he’d rather see us grow into a spiritual place where we reject a sinful behavior ourselves, as opposed to ‘zapping’ us on the spot when we cross the line.
Either way, I guess it’s fair to deduce that assisting the poor had a place in the ministrations of Christ and his immediate group of followers. But I would quibble with whether the weight of the gospels would lead us to believe that helping the poor was ‘very high priority’. I just don’t see that emphasis there… and maybe I’m reading this statement with the wrong emphasis: “What I mean is that simply providing people with a verbal or written message of the Gospel is only a fraction of what true, Biblical preaching is….”, but I can’t see how preaching a message that through faith can save us from eternal death as something that would be described in these light of terms… “simply providing”, and the “verbal” message being a “fraction of… true Biblical preaching”. That seems a little strong, when you weigh up the emphasis of the gospels by verse count, for instance. Not that I’ve done that yet :-)
My thoughts also go to the emphasis in Peter’s relationship with Cornelius, for instance, where the focus is very much on the “‘words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.” True, Cornelius obviously didn’t have financial needs, but the emphasis there is what I see in the rest of the NT: teaching the saving message that through faith can save from all sins.
So while I do find accounts all through the Bible about the importance of helping those who fall within our sphere of possible influence, and have needs, I don’t see a strong thrust that appears to make it a fundamental, integral part of our preaching life. But you probably have more in further articles to come!
In the one hope,
Kevin
Kevin,
I hear ya!
Give me a couple of weeks to develop this idea and then let me know if I don’t address your concern.
Kyle
Should we be looking further back in God’s dealing with mankind? The Law was very clear that those who have needed to provide for the poor. The farmers needed to leave the grain in the corners for the poor to glean. When you lent to the poor, you couldn’t take usury (interest). You couldn’t take someone’s coat and keep it over night.
Jesus knew the Law.
Now to the relationship of Judas to Christ. Christ knew what was going on in people’s mind. He didn’t need the disciples or anyone else to tell him what Judas was doing. We also know that the eleven didn’t behave the way they should all the time. James and John wanted to be the left and right hand men in the kingdom.
Also we should keep in mind that John’s gospel was written years later than the others. Very likely the people who had been the inner circle of Christ were dead by this time. There wouldn’t be a need to worry about what folks would think of the twelve.