I am in poverty--as defined by the government, that is. I don't own a TV, I share a one bedroom apartment with a roommate, and I don't even own a suit. To many, this sounds pretty scant, but yet, as I sit in my heated room, surfing the internet, I realize that I would be considered a rich man in most of the world. Why? I have three meals a day, I have clean water, I have indoor plumbing, I can make my small apartment cool in the summer and warm in the winter, I have a car that allows me to travel in comfort. For much of the world, they could not even dream of having these kinds of possessions and options in life.
Almost 3 billion people in the world live on less than two dollars a day; for those of you doing the math at home, that is almost half of the world's population. Two dollars a day. That is less than most would spend making a trip to McDonald's, but 3 billion people survive on that. Here is another fact to chew on: 36 million people die every year from starvation. Statistically speaking, in the time it took me to type that sentence, 5 people starved to death. And not in the metaphorical sense that everybody uses to express that they are hungry. Five very real people died because they simply did not have enough food to survive any longer.
Enter the church. Poverty has been around a long time. During the time Jesus walked the earth somewhere between 90 and 95 percent of the population was in poverty, and the other 5-10% were extremely wealthy by their standards. On multiple occasions, Jesus fed massive crowds. In Matthew 18:16-22, he told the rich young man that to follow Him, the man would have to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. Was this just a random saying that He told but didn't really mean? If we believe God is just, and we believe that Jesus is God, then we cannot say that He would randomly turn a man away to an eternity of punishment because of a random moment when He said something He did not really mean. That means that we have to seriously consider this command of Him. Even if Christ did not mean for everyone to sell their possessions, He made it clear that His followers were to help take care of the poor (Deut 15:7; Matt 25:35, etc). The church was never intended to cure poverty, as there simply are not enough Christians to go around, but one of its jobs IS to lessen poverty.
However, the church has by and large failed at this job. There are many people who do great things to try and ease poverty, but this is not the majority in the church. I frequently hear Christians complaining about how seemingly little they have, while not even considering the state of those 3 billion people who live each day on less that a cup of Starbucks coffee. I am as guilty of this as anyone. I have even heard of many Americans not really believing that there are people in true poverty and unhappy about being strapped for money when they have multiple cars, TVs, and other "essentials".
So, what does this all mean? Well, for one, I would encourage you to consider Christ in all things, and keep Him in mind and be in prayer with Him while thinking about this issue. Second, pray for those who are in true poverty. Third, be more grateful in your own position, and realize how good we have it. Fourth, consider ways to cut back your expenditures so that you can donate to churches or missionaries who are making a point to help out the poor. Fifth, volunteer your time to help with our own poor--while they may not live on two dollars, we have Americans who starve to death--go volunteer at a soup kitchen or a food pantry and help out others in need.
(Sobering reality: During the time it took to write this, nearly 3000 people died of starvation. Remember how Christ would have you treat these people.)
Almost 3 billion people in the world live on less than two dollars a day; for those of you doing the math at home, that is almost half of the world's population. Two dollars a day. That is less than most would spend making a trip to McDonald's, but 3 billion people survive on that. Here is another fact to chew on: 36 million people die every year from starvation. Statistically speaking, in the time it took me to type that sentence, 5 people starved to death. And not in the metaphorical sense that everybody uses to express that they are hungry. Five very real people died because they simply did not have enough food to survive any longer.
Enter the church. Poverty has been around a long time. During the time Jesus walked the earth somewhere between 90 and 95 percent of the population was in poverty, and the other 5-10% were extremely wealthy by their standards. On multiple occasions, Jesus fed massive crowds. In Matthew 18:16-22, he told the rich young man that to follow Him, the man would have to sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor. Was this just a random saying that He told but didn't really mean? If we believe God is just, and we believe that Jesus is God, then we cannot say that He would randomly turn a man away to an eternity of punishment because of a random moment when He said something He did not really mean. That means that we have to seriously consider this command of Him. Even if Christ did not mean for everyone to sell their possessions, He made it clear that His followers were to help take care of the poor (Deut 15:7; Matt 25:35, etc). The church was never intended to cure poverty, as there simply are not enough Christians to go around, but one of its jobs IS to lessen poverty.
However, the church has by and large failed at this job. There are many people who do great things to try and ease poverty, but this is not the majority in the church. I frequently hear Christians complaining about how seemingly little they have, while not even considering the state of those 3 billion people who live each day on less that a cup of Starbucks coffee. I am as guilty of this as anyone. I have even heard of many Americans not really believing that there are people in true poverty and unhappy about being strapped for money when they have multiple cars, TVs, and other "essentials".
So, what does this all mean? Well, for one, I would encourage you to consider Christ in all things, and keep Him in mind and be in prayer with Him while thinking about this issue. Second, pray for those who are in true poverty. Third, be more grateful in your own position, and realize how good we have it. Fourth, consider ways to cut back your expenditures so that you can donate to churches or missionaries who are making a point to help out the poor. Fifth, volunteer your time to help with our own poor--while they may not live on two dollars, we have Americans who starve to death--go volunteer at a soup kitchen or a food pantry and help out others in need.
(Sobering reality: During the time it took to write this, nearly 3000 people died of starvation. Remember how Christ would have you treat these people.)
1 comment:
You need to check out the book "When Helping Hurts" Those guys know what they are talking about
Post a Comment