Poverty

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. Mark14:7NIV

There is a massive drive in the UK to wipe out the need for food banks, and poverty itself, but is this realistic? The government have announced their intention to appoint a ‘Minister of Poverty’, but can this work? This short verse contains three important points, but leaves the most important to the last in an effort to drive home the message.

“The poor you will always have with you” goes against the government’s action in appointing a minister to eliminate poverty because we are told whether we like it or not, there will always be poor folks among us.

“You can help them any time you want” is a clear reminder of the need and importance as believers to do all we can to reduce the effects of poverty, while acknowledging the clear fact that we will never eradicate it.

“You will not always have me” is the stark truth which rises above the desire to help the poor, and addresses a more fundamental need. There are two levels to this phrase. Jesus was telling His disciples that there would shortly come a time when He would not be with them, but without saying how it would happen. However today this phrase applies to those who, through their own free will, reject Him and His gift of salvation. Some (literally) very poor people will lose out twice. No food and no future, and it doesn’t have to be like that.

Based on this, I suggest we are not doing the whole job if all we do is supply food for the body. Food is very important, but Jesus tells us clearly that it is only half the work needed. It is more important that we give the message of the more nourishing heavenly manna for their soul to supplement the food for the body. Then, and only then, we will have completed the full commandment.

Poor In Spirit

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:3

This small verse has pride of place in the list of beatitudes because Jesus thought it was important enough to put it first. A coincidence? I don’t think so.

What comes to your mind when you hear the phrase, “poor in spirit”? A few thoughts pop into my head, and maybe they match some of your own. I think of the folks who live and think simply and uncluttered by life’s troubles. I think of some who are diseased or afflicted of mind, and don’t think straight. They maybe couldn’t hold down a regular job. What about those who feel down and depressed? These folks don’t get a lot of sympathy in today’s world because they make a point of keeping their feelings hidden. In fact none of these fit nicely into our acceptable mould, yes even our pristine clean church leaders and members don’t know what to do with them.

Here’s the good news, and it’s worth remembering when you think of your family and friends who are not blessed with a clear, sound mind now. Perhaps they once did, and were the life of any get together, but now find it impossible to hold a conversation, and in extreme cases, may even need help in their everyday routines. Jesus has a word for your friends.

Jesus calls them “Blessed”. That’s the same word used when the angel visited Mary to tell her she would carry and bear the Saviour of the world. “Blessed”. Let it sink in. Then as if that wasn’t enough, Jesus gives the best announcement for these blessed “poor in spirit” folks. He tells them, and everyone else like them, that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. Jesus confers two of the greatest honours on these people of simple thought and mind. They are blessed, and have a promise of heaven. Brother and sister, it doesn’t get any better than this does it? And straight from the lips of the Saviour. Amen and Amen!!

Spare a Thought at Christmas

It’s the time of year for happiness. Kids love the mystery of the surprise gifts under the tree, and adults love putting the tree up, with Christmas lights, tinsel and glitter. There is a certain magic in the festive air for both children and adults alike, especially true when the real meaning of the season is not lost. We must never lose sight of the fact that we celebrate the baby Jesus, who is the ‘reason for the season’.

Sadly, this is not the season of love and peace for everyone, so as you celebrate, remember those who are not so fortunate. They are all around you, and in numbers you wouldn’t recognise because some will go along with the festive flow while feeling empty inside. With others it is more obvious. The homeless poor are in our towns, and we let their presence blend into the background where our consciences are not bothered, but we get some relief  by dropping a coin or two in a charity box found in every shop. Your lonely friend is not so easy to spot.

It’s at Christmas, more than any other time of year, we must look beyond the lights, bargains and carollers, to the one who made the season possible for us to enjoy. Jesus slipped into this His world almost unnoticed, and He came to the lowly and humble of His day. So as we sit around the family table enjoying the good food and company, yes, remember the lonely and those who are less fortunate and don’t have much, but more than anything else give thanks to God above for the gift of His Son. The season is called CHRISTmas for good reason, so go ahead and celebrate your heritage with thanks as the child of God that you are!!

She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21

Prosperity Gospel and the American Dream

The ‘prosperity gospel’ of receiving more by giving more, is accepted with open arms for the most part by the poor. After all, the rich have no need of it, because they are already prosperous. There is a great industry, especially in the United States, of this kind of message. It is much less in evidence in the UK, and I got to wondering why?

At first glance, the message is completely scriptural. You cannot outgive God, because He is greater than our every need. There are lots of verses which show the willingness of God to bless His people, so is this type of preaching, the whole gospel of good news and truth? I think it is incomplete.

It is undeniable that God is God, but not a genie in a bottle, which when we rub or say the right prayer, or use the right formula, He becomes our slave. God is sovereign, and He is the One we worship. His will is done, not ours, so He is not at our command, therefore the ‘name it and claim it’ gospel is very misleading, and the people most at risk, are those most in need. The very people who take the claim literally, seriously, and in faith trusting the well heeled televangelist who already have their private jet, mansion, and financial security are perhaps deluded? Are the poor their personal gold seam?

We have many poor people in the UK, and as a percentage more than in the USA, so why has this ‘get rich’ gospel not taken off in the same way? Good question, and with respect to my many American cousins, I will hazard an educated guess. The mindset of the ‘American Dream’ is embedded in the culture and mind of just about everyone who goes through life in the US. Starting at Grade School, through College, many good people believe if they study and work hard, they will achieve their dream of a nice home, savings, and a happy and secure family. That is a good and valid dream, and to be pursued. The US nation and economy is testimony to its value. I applaud its worth in society, which simply put says, work hard, believe in yourself, and achieve your dream.

Could there be a link between the ‘Prosperity Gospel’ and the ‘American Dream’ which has been misunderstood by the poor, and abused and misused by the televangelists to line their own pockets? I know this may be off target, so I am open to correction, but I cannot rid myself of the thought. I confess the concept is not my own, but from a book by a well known and respected US author. I suppose my basic question is this: Are these ‘Prosperity Gospel’ preachers and teachers just charlatans, or do they add Spiritual value to the lives of their followers, especially the poor?

Choosy

One of the best things about our free and fair democracy, is that we get the chance to be choosy at all sorts of levels. We choose people from the President or Prime Minister, right down to who our friends are on Facebook. We choose our life’s partner, our family home, and our car. We choose where to go to church, and where to spend our holidays (and with whom!). The list is endless. There is one significant common factor in all of this, but we will come back to that.

Because we can choose people and things at one level, doesn’t mean we get to choose everything. Our children are a gift from God. We might choose our house, but not the burst pipes in winter, or the flat tyre of our chosen car. Again, the list of consequences from our initial choices could go on. There is another, but separate common factor going on here.

The bottom line is that we have one level of choice, and the common thread is that we are in control of those choices, but we are not in control of the consequences from those choices. In some ways that is a good thing, after all we may live in a democracy, but not everything is fair. There are many who are less fortunate than us. Some families become fractured, and some people get sick. There is something really sad about a young family trying to ‘make it’ in life, but who do not have a well paid job, and when serious sickness comes along, they struggle badly. Are their choices and dreams any less important? I don’t think so.

I have become very aware of two of God’s children who got very ill, and with the same disease, but in different countries. Each is treated the same as others in their own situation, as their disease worsens and spreads. One racks up a massive medical bill which can never be paid, and the other receives all necessary and top rate home and hospital care, but the family do not get a bill. Both of these good folks did not have their illness by choice, and neither was the necessary cost of treatment a choice. Each person’s care was the consequence of choices made on their behalf by their respective governments. This is not a political argument, but pointing to a higher story where God does not treat any of His children differently, or as they deserve. Nor does God pay out dependent on what we have put in. His boundless grace takes care of that, and I love the truth of God’s free, undeserved, unmerited gift of grace. As Christians, we don’t have to help the poor, it is our choice to help, or not. Here’s a thought: What if our nations grafted God’s Word right into society? Now that would be a community both of good choices, and good consequences! Just a thought.

The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. Mark 14:7 NIV and..Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy. Proverbs 31:8,9 NIV

Poor v Rich

It is probably one of the oldest battles in the book. It's the story of injustice, and how the balance gets tipped if you are either rich or poor. In this case it is one of the richest and most influential men in the world versus a lowly, immigrant, hotel maid. The poor maid claims that the rich man raped her, and the rich man spent some time in custody, before getting put on house arrest. Well, for him house arrest was being held in a mansion, but able to go about freely while tagged during the day. In the meantime, the maid is in hiding, very understandably afraid. She knows that money talks, and in this case shouts!

The rich man's lawyers have been busy, and now the case, and therefore the trial is on the verge of collapsing. The reason is that they have found a difference in the maid's statements taken after the 'alleged' (I have to say that) rape. In one statement, she said she reported the incident straight away, and in the other, she said she cleaned a room before she reported the rape. Who knows what was going through the mind of a young immigrant worker who has a job to keep, and has just been (allegedly) raped? One thing is for sure, she wouldn't have been thinking straight, and it is worth noting that she didn't know who the rich man was, or how influential, at the time.

I see this as a typical 'legal technicality' which taints and corrupts our sophisticated legal systems, and renders it useless and even corrupt. There is no doubt that this case will fold, and both these characters in the drama will return to their lives in some way. The rich man to his politics, safe in the knowledge that he has not been found guilty of anything, but the maid... where does she go? She has no job now, and is now looked on as a liar and a cheat. What chance does she now have? And all based on what? Evidence that the rape didn't happen? No. Disproof of the forensic evidence already found on his clothes? No. A change of the facts as to how the incident happened? No. It is all based on the words of a scared, terrified, poor maid who said two things, neither of which disproves the rich man's guilt. And you ask me to believe that he is innocent? Well, do you? Once again, in the ongoing battle of rich against poor, rich wins. Every time!

I had thought it a bit like a modern day 'David and Goliath' story, except that in today's society, David would have been convicted and found guilty, and beheaded, for being underage and in possession of an offensive weapon, a slingshot. Meanwhile Goliath would be the hero, and given a knighthood. Ok, ok, I am just being cynical, but tell me I'm wrong!