The Poor and Christ

The issue of poverty and justice towards the poor is a major one in the Bible. To exploit the poor is a major offence against God; and to deal with them righteously (and in such a way as to enable people not to be poor) is to be blessed by the Lord. The Old Testament is full of exhortations to the Israelites to deal justly to the poor and needy not only of their own nation but to foreigners as well. Justice for the poor both show that a person knows God (Jeremiah 22:13-16) and that he is righteous:

Isaiah 58:6-8 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh? Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you, the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard."

This idea is continued and expanded in Christ's teachings on the poor in the New Testament. Jesus' first words on beginning His ministry in Luke were a quotation from Isaiah, saying that "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed." (Luke 4:18). Jesus declares His mission on earth to include taking the gospel of liberation to the poor and exalting the lowest in society far beyond their oppressors. Even more than that, Jesus tells us that we see Him in the faces of the poor, the sick, the lonely and the criminal - in all whom we might pass by or ignore, the King of Heaven has chosen to show Himself. In Matthew 25:34-46 Jesus tells us that when we aid even the least among us (in earthly terms) we aid God Himself, and our reward will be based on our solicitude to Him through them:

Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?' And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me.' And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

We are instructed to aid the poor, not to be constantly seeking riches on earth, but instead looking for reward in heaven. That reward depends upon what we do, if we are not to be one of those who say "Lord, Lord", but do not do what He says. The Bible sternly warns against ignoring those who are poor and esteeming the wealthy when it tells us not to reserve the best seats and treatment in church for the rich (James 2:1-7) and not to praise those who give much out of such great wealth that they don't even miss it over the contributions of those who have little but give greatly from it (Mark 12:41-44). Indeed, the message of the gospel is that all are equal in Christ's sight, and that He will liberate them from all their cares.

The rich come in for a great deal of censure in the Gospels. While Jesus never says that money is evil or that the rich cannot be saved, he does say that it is harder for the rich to accept Him. Matthew 19:21-4 Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, it will be hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The more money and possessions we have, the more we want, and the more we look to them rather than to God for reassurance. This applies not only to the rich in monetary terms, but to those who consider themselves spiritually rich, and so lose their humility. It is only when we become least that we can become first, only when we cease to see ourselves as better than others that we have the chance to actually be better. The rich are in danger of making their wealth an idol and of ceasing to see the poor as their brothers and equals.

While Jesus does exalt the poor at the expense of the rich, it is not the message of the Bible that poverty is wonderful. The charity that He demands we show to others for love in Matthew 25 wil change the world and bring justice by the grace of God. To give food and shelter to the poor is to take a step toward the material equality of all isntead of simple spiritual equality. As Gustavo Gutierrez wrote, "to offer food or drink in our day is a political action; it means the transformation of a society structured to benefit a few who appropriate to themselves the value of the work of others." [1] To follow Jesus' instructions 'not to take thought for tomorrow' or to lay up riches on earth is not to seek to become poor but to consider God above the riches of the world. The Gospel demands that we free the poor from what is, as Gutierrez characterises it, a 'scandalous' condition of exploitation and degradation. It does not demand that we become exploited ourselves but that we seek to free others from this exploitation and embrace that liberation which makes us all freely human. To be poor is to have our natural human dignity removed from us - to give charity is to give dignity to others, and to do something to remove the degradation others endure. If we look at a homeless man on the streets (an example perhaps more familiar and more personal than evoking images of 'the poor' of other lands) who can deny that such a man is degraded by his poverty? And who can argue that we should take on his degradation rather than helping him become a full person? In the Old Testament the Israelites are condemned for keeping the poor in poverty, and for causing others to become poor themselves. We see a model of God's concern for the poor, a model for us to follow, in the Exodus story. God here intervened to stop the exploitation and degradation of the Israelites by the Egyptians, to restore to them dignity and personhood. We must seek to do the same today, to free the oppressed and ease the cause of poverty. We have much to give, and many to give it to, for the purpose of exalting the God of Justice and spreading the Gospel of liberation.

Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

1 Gustavo Gutierrez, A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation Tr C Inda & J Eagleson (SCM Press, 1988) p192

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