How should we respond to the poor? Is 58:1-11
Gladstone Baptist Church – 23/10/05 am
This year, there has been an unprecedented public exposure given to ridding the world of poverty. There has been the “Make Poverty History” campaign with Musicians such as Bob Geldoff and Bono and actors such as Brad Pitt and George Clunney taking a very public stand. It included the Live 8 Music Concerts.
The G8 nations were meeting and there was lobbying of them to “Make Poverty History.” They pledged to cancel the debts of the 38 poorest nations of the world and to invest over $3 Billion to eliminate hunger and treat AIDS. Some good things, but probably not far enough to “Make Poverty History.”
It is clear that at the moment, that poverty will continue to be a problem in our world. So the question is – How should we as Christians respond to the poor.
Some of you may be thinking at this point – “What can we do? – We haven’t got $3 Billion to throw at the problem – and money won’t necessarily solve all the problems anyway. It’s all too difficult, therefore I won’t do anything.” That’s an all too common attitude among wealthy Christians today. But I want you to hear that God is not asking you to be the solution to every problem in the world – that would be unrealistic. But He is asking us to be part of the solution. I think everyone in this world at some time asks the same question – “What can one person do.” “What can I do?” “What can we do?” … Not much by yourself, granted, but everyone working together can make a difference – you’ve got a part to play in making a difference. Which part are you going to be?
It is like that story of a man on a beach where millions and millions of starfish had been washed up. There was a little boy walk along the beach picking up individual starfish and taking them down to the water and releasing them. The man, approached him and said – the problem is too big, you can’t save them all, you can’t hope to make a difference. We are a lot like that man – “there are too many starving people, it is too difficult because there is corruption, there is drought, there are systems which prevent them from getting out of poverty. We can’t hope to make a difference.”
But the little boy answers as he picks up another starfish – “I maybe can’t save them all – but I can make a difference to the life of this one” and puts a starfish back in the water.
This morning I want to spend some time and look at the massive problem of poverty in this world of ours and look at what our response to it should be as followers of Jesus Christ. No we probably can’t solve the problem completely, but we can make a difference to someone.
The Bible has an enormous amount to say about looking after the poor. One commentator has identified over 3000 verses that speak about looking after the poor or underprivileged.
Here are some examples …
Ex 25:35 - ”‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.
Prov 14:21 - He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy.
Prov 14:31 - He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.
Prov 21:13 - If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Prov 22:22-23 - 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.
Is 3:14-15 - The LORD enters into judgment against the elders and leaders of his people: “It is you who have ruined my vineyard; the plunder from the poor is in your houses. What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the faces of the poor?”
Matt 19:21 - Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
The Bible is full of such verses because God LOVES poor people. God has a special place in his heart for Poor People whether we like it or not, Exploitation or the neglect of Poor people makes God’s blood boil. But who are we talking about here when we talk about the poor? I think there are two answers to this.
Firstly, there are the millions in this world that are living in extreme poverty and need. Who are they?
- Our world has 6 billion people in it - More than one billion people (17%) in the world live on less than a dollar a day. 50% of the world’s population struggle to survive on less than $2 per day. The bulk are in Africa and Asia. We would not think twice about buying a coffee or a snack for $2 every day would we!!!
- More than 840 million people (14%) live in chronic hunger. The lighter regions show a high prevalence and depth of hunger.
- 11 million children die each year—most under the age of five and more than six million from completely preventable causes like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia. In much of the world, you are doing well if you live to 55 years of age.
- 114 million children do not attend primary school and 584 million women are illiterate.
- More than one billion people (17%) do not have access to safe water and over two billion (33%) lack access to basic sanitation. Here is the expenditure of the world’s population on Health Expenditure. In the west, we’ve got money to spare on our own health.
So that’s a snap shot of the first group of people – the billions that are in extreme poverty.
The second group of poor are the poor in our society. There are people in our community who are in need or who are oppressed or exploited. In actual fact, every single person in our society is incredibly rich compared to the rest of the world, but comparatively speaking there are many who struggle in our community – among them can figure single parents, disabled, elderly, long term unemployed, etc. We are called to reach out to them. Because God loves them.
God has a special place in his heart for them and so did Jesus and the early church.
For Jesus Giving to the poor was
- An identifying mark of his Messianic ministry. – when John the Baptist wondered if Jesus was the Messiah – Jesus pointed to the fact that the gospel was being preached to the poor – (Luke 7:18-23). When you actually think about it, most of Jesus’ healings were directed to disabled people who would have all been poverty stricken in that society – there was no health care or social security system.
- A Command to be obeyed. He commanded the rich young man to sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor (Matt 19:21). He commanded the same thing of his disciples (Lk 12:32-34)
- A Criteria for judgment. In the parable of the sheep and goats, people were judged according to what they had done for the least of his children. Jesus welcomed into heaven those who looked after the poor – those who fed them, those who clothed them, those who visited them in prison. But those who refused to give the poor any time, he condemned. (Matt 25:34ff)
In a similar way – for the early church, giving to the poor was
- An identifying Mark of a fellowship of believers. – Acts 2:42-45, 4:32-35
- A sign of an individual’s faith – Acts 9:36, 10:1-2
- A key ministry of the early church – In fact when the disciples in Jerusalem acknowledged the work of Paul and Barnabas and sent them out to continue their work, the only command they gave them was to remember the poor. (Gal 2:9-10).
So Jesus and the early church were very involved with practical ministry to the poor, but what should our response be to the poor?
Let’s open up our bibles to Is 58:1-11
58 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ [In Is 58, the people of Israel are upset because they felt that God wasn’t upholding his end of the bargain. They were fasting and praying and worshipping God, but he didn’t seem to be responding to them. He wasn’t looking after them. And here in this chapter God tells them why – They were going through the motions, but they were neglecting the important commands.]
“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. [How often do we come to church on a Sunday and think that we are doing God a big service, and then walk out of here and forget about him. We treat others with contempt, we argue and fight. We use and abuse those we have power and influence over. God says … ]
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD? [God is not impressed by our religiosity if we neglect the commands that are closest to his heart – What are they? We’ve been talking about them in the last couple of weeks – Love the Lord Your God and love your neighbor as yourself. God was sick of people putting on a Christian show when in reality they were being far from Christ like. How often do we go through the motions of Christian faith, but REFUSE TO OBEY THE GREATEST COMMANDS?]
6 “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? 7 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? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness a will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 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 malicious talk, 10 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. 11 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.
We all want God to guide us, to satisfy our needs, to strengthen us and bless us don’t we. Well says God, if you want that – put an end to oppression, look after the hungry, care for the oppressed, shelter the needy, clothe the naked. In short - LOOK AFTER THE POOR AND THE NEEDY. That’s what caring for our neighbors is all about.
Now I hear your objections … It’s about this time of the sermon that all the buts come out … Let’s look at some of them …
But some of them don’t deserve it
You are right – some of the “poor” typically in our society don’t deserve it – they have made poor life choices and have at times wasted money. But I don’t see anywhere in Scripture where God puts conditions on which poor can receive help. Jesus didn’t say, “sell everything and give it to the “deserving” poor”. He said “give it to the poor” – with no conditions or judgments attached. He is not a God who puts conditions on who is worth saving and He doesn’t put conditions on who is worth helping – so give WITHOUT JUDGMENT.
Why? Because what Jesus taught was that when we give money to others, we are actually giving it to CHRIST. That is what the sheep and the goats parable teaches “What you do for the least of my brothers, you do for me.” We are not answerable for how someone else uses Money we give to God. They are answerable for their use of that money. We are asked to give, not to be responsible for the use of the money we give. Once it is out of our hands, leave it alone.
But I would prefer to give my money to Christian organizations to see the Gospel spread
Statistics clearly show that some of the areas of greatest need in sub-Sahara Africa are largely Christianised countries. < Show Map> So it is good you want to give to Christians - we need to pitch in and help our brothers and sisters in Christ who are starving to death.
But the flip side of the coin shows us that some of the other areas of greatest need – particularly through out the Central and East Asian regions are regions which need to hear the gospel desperately. Many of the least developed countries in the world are also the least evangelized and Christian organizations are in there seeking to share the gospel while at the same time alleviating poverty. Practical help can open incredible doors for the gospel. That is why God told the Israelites to look after the poor, the widows and the aliens in their midst – so that they could be a witness to them.
But I don’t have enough money to spare
How many here would have an averaged annual income in there household of less than $700 before tax. Half our world is surviving on less than that. Yes some of you might not be working, but your spouses are and they are bringing in lots more money than that.
We’ve got far more money than what we need to survive.
“Oh – but I’ve got a mortgage to pay off” Are you going to die from malnutrition because your loan doesn’t get paid off as quickly as perhaps you would like?
“Oh – but I need to save up to buy a car” The mere fact that you are looking to buy a car puts you in the top couple of percent of the world’s richest people.
We’ve got plenty of money to spare, we just don’t have the conviction yet to give it!
And I’m no different to you, I enjoy my comfortable life and I like my toys. I’ve got a nice house and well paying job. I’ve got money stored away for a rainy day. I really struggle with letting go of it all, but God says to who is entrusted much, much will be required (Lk 12:48). God clearly says that we have to look after the poor, so what are we going to do?
As we close this morning, here are some practical suggestions to get us started on the right track…
1) Begin supporting personally a missionary that is ministering to the world’s poor. Lyndal Brunner for example – working among AIDS orphans in Thailand.
2) Open your heart to the poor around you. We all like to be seen with beautiful people. But lets invite the people who are struggling over for a meal for once instead of just our nice friends. Maybe volunteer to help out at the Women’s shelter in town or at Roseberry house.
3) Support an orphan or a child somewhere in the world through SAO or Compassion or the like.
4) Instead of buying everyone Christmas Presents this year which we really don’t need, why not grab a SAO or TEAR Christmas catalogue. Here are some of the things you can buy.
TEAR
- A Year’s School Supplies - $5
- 25 Tree seedlings - $8
- A Mosquito Net - $10
- A Safe Drinking Supply - $20
- An Organic Kitchen Garden - $25
- Adult Literacy Course - $35
- Year of Family Health Care - $40
- Year of Primary Schooling - $45
- A goat - $50
- Health Worker Training - $60
- A Hygienic Toilet - $70
- HIV Education - $85
- Sewing Course - $100
- Small Business Loan - $120
- A Heifer - $300
- A Water Tank - $600
- School Building - $2000
Looking after the poor is not an optional extra for Christians today – it was important for Jesus while he was on the earth and it is important for us. Are you like the Israelites – coming to church each Sunday and putting on the Christian face, but neglecting what is really important to God – looking after others? Don’t neglect the poor, there is too much at stake for them and for you. I’ll leave you with this cartoon …
