Intro: How much do you have to have to be a success in our society? With the changes in our economy, it seems that the bar is really being raised. It used to be that if you were a millionaire, you had achieved success. The truth is, that millionaires are really quite common in our society today. In fact, if you look around town, you will see some homes worth almost that much. So, what is it in our day? A hundred million? A billion? We all wish we had the billions of a Bill Gates.
Yet, this morning I would like to remind us, myself included, that success is not measured in dollars and cents. READ “One Solitary Life” - Hymnal #566
Sometimes poverty can be successful.
Years ago there was one man who committed himself to poverty and a lifestyle of helping others. His name was St. Francis of Assisi, and he is remembered and followed by many.
Last year a woman with a heart for the needy of Calcutta died: Mother Theresa. Protestants and Catholics alike stood up and applauded her for her selfless sacrifice to minister to the needs of others.
This morning, I want to start a series looking at “failures” in the eyes of the world who are really “successes” in the eyes of God. This morning we will start by considering poverty.
We really don’t understand poverty in our society. Yes, there are poor people: they are the ones who drive the cars that we trade in and who have to settle for above-ground swimming pools. But this is far from the idea of poverty.
#Once, in an elite private school, a teacher asked her class to write a composition on the subject of poverty. One little girl started out, “Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her governess was poor, her chauffeur was poor, her butler was poor. In fact, everyone in the house was very, very poor.”
In our society, even the destitute do well. It is not that way in other countries. Today, in other countries, people die for lack of food, care, and medical attention.
Now, there are many reasons for poverty.
I. What are the reasons for being poor?
There are good reasons and bad reasons for being poor. Let’s consider them:
Some people don’t wish to work. Therefore they don’t have much money. Of course our government tries to overcome the consequences of not working by giving part of our income to those who don’t work.
Some people lack opportunities to provide for themselves and their families
Some love sleep - Prov. 20:13 - Do not love sleep or you will grow poor; stay awake and you will have food to spare.
Some make hasty, foolish plans - Prov. 21:5 - The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.
Some chase after foolish fantasies - Prov. 28:19 - He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
Some love to talk but not work, some have no discipline, some are greedy, some spend foolishly, some hold back from giving to God
Some are poor because they are generous!
This morning, I would offer you a successful person: The one who is poor for the right reason is very successful in the eyes of God.
Often the most generous people are those who are poor. Now, you might say, yes, it’s a lot easier to give a tithe if it’s $1 than if it’s $100. Yet, just the opposite is true. If you only have $10 to live on, that $1 in the offering plate is a far greater sacrifice than the man who gives $100 and keeps $900 to live on. Yet, often we find that those who have little truly value the things that are important.
#Ronda took a short missions trip to Poland and Romania. People would fix them meals; Ronda and others in group knew people gave all the meat they had to eat for the whole week to them.
#I remember once a needy person I knew was given a gift to help them in their time of need, but they gave that gift away to someone they knew who was needier than they were. Do we have that same generous spirit?
Luke 21:1-4 - As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. "I tell you the truth," he said, "this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."
-There are those who are poor because everything they have is given to God.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not at that point yet in my life where I give everything I have into the offering plate. I’d like to think that I would give everything if I felt it was God’s will. Yet, here was a woman--and we don’t know her circumstances--but she was willing to give everything to God: even all she had to live on.
God doesn’t call us to give away everything; yet he does call us to admit that everything we have is his. All of our money is God’s. Sometimes we forget that and use God’s money foolishly. Yet, if we really have the perspective that it is all his money, it will make a drastic difference in the way we spend it.
Let’s talk about some others who considered everything to be God’s. The early church:
Acts 4:32-35 - All the believers were one in heart and mind. No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
Do we have that type of commitment to care for meeting the needs of our brothers and sisters?
The early church did! We need to remember that we are a body. I can’t cut my arm off and expect it to live alone. Each member of the body needs each other member.
Let’s talk about some others who gave everything to God: the Saints at Macedonia.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 - And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.
What a church! These people faced extreme poverty, severe trials, and ASK for the opportunity to give an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Far too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity.
II. What is our Response to the Poor?
Scripture tells us many things about the poor.
We will always have the poor with us. Therefore we need to help when we can. Deuteronomy 15:11 - There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.
Don’t show favoritism or injustice - Ex. 23:3,6 - Do not show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit. . . . Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits. Don’t discriminate, and don’t have reverse discrimination. Don’t base your feelings and actions towards others based on their financial situation.
Don’t forget to help the poor. Prov. 21:13 - If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. Ezek. 16:49 - Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Gal. 2:9-10 - James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
Let the poor help where they can. This will help them maintain their dignity, and it will help them to be able to be a blessing to others. Never tell a person they cannot give towards a project, because they need the money themselves. Don’t manipulate them to give, but if they want to give, accept their help.
We often have the attitude that the poor are somehow a lower social caste than we are. After all, what is a poor person? It’s someone who doesn’t have as much as I do. Don’t look down on the poor. They have much to teach us.
III. What do we learn from the Poor?
There is much that we can learn from those who have little.
A. Thankfulness - Do we really know what it means to thank God for “our daily bread”? We have so much, that we feel totally secure in ourselves and in our ability to provide for ourselves and those we love. Those who have little or nothing know what it is to wait upon God to provide. Often their prayer lives are so much richer, because they look to God constantly for their needs.
George Meuller ran an orphanage in England. The story is told of how sometimes it would be supper, and they would all gather around a table and pray. About that time a knock would come on the door. A bread truck would have broken down outside and they wondered if the orphanage could use some extra bread.
Do we really look to God each day to provide for our needs? If we do, we will be thankful for the way he provides. Let’s make sure that we are a thankful people today.
We also learn to be thankful that we are not living in the same circumstances as others with much less than us. We always are reminded that “there but for the grace of God go I.” Never let us become so complacent that we forget to be thankful for what we have.
B. Opportunity - We can learn from the poor that we need to take advantage of opportunities to give. Look at the church at Macedonia. 2 Cor. 8:4 - they urgently pleaded for the privilege to share in the offering. There will always be needs in the body of Christ.
#In a “Dear Abby” column a few years back someone complained about the the amount of money he was expected to give to the church. In response, a reader sent in the following comments by baseball manager Leo Durocher, who wrote them at age 81:
On June 2, 1940, a little girl was born to us. She cost us money from the moment she was born. As she grew from babyhood to girlhood, she cost even more - her dresses and shoes were more expensive, and we had to have the doctor through all those childhood diseases.
She was even more expensive during her school and teen years. She needed long dresses to go to parties. When she went to college we discovered, along with other parents, that all college expenses are not listed in the catalog. Then after graduation, she fell in love and married. She was married in a church wedding and that, too, cost a lot of money.
Then, five months after her marriage, she suddenly sickened and within a week she was dead. She hasn’t cost us a penny since the day we walked away from her grave.
As long as the church is alive, she will cost money. And the more alive a church is, the more money she will cost. Only a dead church, like a dead child, is not longer expensive. Living churches are filled with generous givers. Dead churches are filled with tippers.
From the poor, we learn to look for opportunities of giving.
C. Cheerfulness - We can also learn from the example of the Macedonian Christians to give cheerfully. In 2 Cor. 9:7 it says Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Here is a group of Christians, having little, going through trials, who ask to have a chance to give. And when they give, they give cheerfully. They don’t give out of a sense of obligation or duty. They give out of the joy in their hearts.
The last lesson we learn from the poor is
D. Those who are poor can really be rich
We all know the story - a man has untold millions, yet he’s unhappy; while those in poverty are filled with joy. Ebenezer Scrooge vs. Tiny Tim. Those who have little in the eyes of the world, can really be rich. Christ’s words to the church at Smyrna: To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty--yet you are rich!
The widow who gave her last pennies was far richer than those who put in great amounts.
Concl: Are we rich or poor this morning? I’m not asking how much we have in our bank account or IRA. Rather, how does God view us? Are we storing up savings in the only secure bank -- the bank of heaven. Matt. 6:19 - Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
Are we committed to loving the poor?
Do we discriminate against the poor?
Are we truly generous?
Do we give cheerfully?
Do we look for opportunity or security?
Let’s learn this morning that poverty, while in the eyes of the world is a failure, in the eyes of God can be a great success!
