How We View the Poor

One of the things we will make a priority with our church is serving our community, and specifically the poor/oppressed. I was reading an article by Mark Buchanan called Wreck the Roof about the ways they've had to change their focus as a church in order to really reach out to the needy and came across a great quotation. He is talking about a program they do where they give backpacks with school supplies to the children of single parents. Before they begin he meets with the volunteers from his church and here is what he tells them.

"Today, you are Christ's voice, his hands, his feet, his eyes, his heart. If these people see Jesus, it will be in you. And, like Christ, we are doing more than rendering a service. We are loving them as ourselves. We are not just serving, but having Jesus' attitude--being in very nature servants.

"Life and circumstances, and ofthen their own bad choices, have taken many things from these people. But what each of them needs most today is not clothes or a new backpack or an oil change. We can give all those things and fail to give the one thing needed, or even worse: we might give all those gifts with one hand, and with the other strip them further of the one thing needed.

"The one thing needed is dignity. It is their sense of being loved and worth loving. It is their sense of their infinite value in the eyes of God, and in the eyes of God's people. If we give all those other things today but don't give them dignity, we fail. Today, give the one thing needed. Today, we host kings and queens, princes and princesses. Let us act accordingly."

I nearly cry every time I read the last two sentences. So often we see the poor as projects at best and a nuisance at worst. If we serve them with that attitude we will do more to push them down then to give them a hand.

Once in Denver I pulled up to a stoplight and there was a man begging on the corner. I rolled down my window and here's how our conversation went.

"Hello."
"Hello"
"What's your name?"
"My name's Abraham."
"Hi Abraham. My name's Trevor. I'm sorry I truly don't have anything I can give you today, but I just wanted to say hi. It's got to get tough being out here all day."
"Thanks man. I lost my job two weeks ago and haven't been able to get another job. I've been putting in applications but nothing's come through. I really hate being out here and just want to find some work so I don't have to be."
At this point the light turned green.
"Well, I will pray that you get work soon."
"Hey, thanks for saying hi. You don't know how much that means."

The look in his eyes is one I'll never forget. When he told me it meant a lot that I said hi it was like he had been given hope. That seems wierd to me, to get that from someone saying hi, but I've never had to beg on a street corner, so I can't know what that does to you.

I don't tell this story to say I'm great or something. I shudder to think how many times I haven't stopped to say hi or how much I should have done and didn't. My point is that dignity is important. I can't imagine how humiliating it would be to stand on a street corner and ask for money. Or how humiliating it would be to go apply for welfare. We can do so much good by treating the poor as the equals they are. We cannot forget this point if we really want to please God.

Who's Purpose 3

I want to wrap up my thoughts on our current church culture and historically American values with a look at wealth. Here's some of what Scripture has to say on the topic.

"Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 5:10
"No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24
"Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely--be content with your pay." Luke 3:14
"And God's grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time, those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need."

It would take a very long post to lay out all the Bible has to say on this very important topic, but these verses illustrate the biblical witness on a few key points. Aquiring wealth has always been a central tenent of the American dream. Entrepreneuership, upward mobility, and a solid portfolio are all things to be coveted. I'm just not sure Jesus' values would match our infatuation with wealth. A few observations about America, the church, and money--

First, in American culture and in the church, money is a very private and personal thing. The fruit of wealth is often seen in houses, vehicles, boats, and other luxuries, but don't ever ask someone how much they made last year or how much they give to Kingdom efforts--that's too personal. The passage in Acts doesn't say that everyone knew how much everyone else had, but they must have had some awareness. The wealthier people knew when there were others in their community who didn't have enough and made sure they were provided for. Now churches are big enough that we can find ways to hide from the needs of others. Our wealth and the way we use it are like our sex life--private knowledge that we keep to ourselves.

Second, Americans and the American church are never content with their current level of financial resources (Ecc and Luke). Norman Rockefeller was once asked, "How much money is enough?" He replied, "Just a little bit more." This summaries the American view of wealth well. Unfortunately it doesn't seem this is often much different in the church, it's just masked more carefully. More money is desired in the name of better programs, which we assure people will mean better ministry. I've never heard a church talk about their excesses and scale back. Rather, attention is given to how just a little more money would solve all the problems. We have adopted this mentality of finding purpose in the pursuit of just a little more wealth.

Finally, Americans have made wealth a god. We work long hours to provide as many things as possible for our families, but we remove ourselves from their lives in the process. We compare ourselves to whoever is one rung up on the financial ladder and try to figure out how we can match them, only to look up again when we get there. We assume more money to buy more things will fulfill us, only to be left empty and wanting. The god of wealth has also invaded our churches. We give preferential treatment to those who put a big check in the plate. We drool over the large houses and vehicles of congregants, never imagining that we should question their stewardship.

Our nation's history and values have taught us that wealth is good, period. This may be the most difficult area for us to embrace Kingdom values, because it will cost us comfort and status.