Introduction:
A. As you know, I like the Peanuts cartoons.
1. In one cartoon, Lucy approaches Charlie Brown with a piece of paper and a pen, and says, “Here sign this. It absolves me from all blame.”
2. Then she goes to Shroeder with the same paper and says, “Here, sign this. It absolves me from all blame.”
3. Finally, she comes to Linus: “Here, sign this. It absolves me from all blame.”
4. As Lucy walks away, Linus says, “Gee, that must be a nice document to have!”
B. Today I want us to talk about poverty.
1. Like Lucy in the Peanuts comic strip, some people think we can just absolve themselves from the subject. “Gee, that would be a nice document to have!”
2. “Why talk about this subject?” you might ask.
3. First of all, because it is a subject that God addresses in His Word, perhaps as much or more than any other subject (except salvation). Some have counted 3000 verses dealing with poverty.
4. And secondly, because this time of the year is one when many do focus on the needs of the poor.
5. There are Christmas tree projects in stores where you can buy gifts for the needy, there are places to donate toys, and of course, there are the red Salvation Army kettles scattered about.
6. It’s a great time to talk about this subject that is so close to God’s heart.
7. So, let’s try to ask and answer several important questions.
I. Question #1: Who Are The Poor?
A. Just who are we talking about when we talk about the poor?
1. I think there are at least two answers to that question.
B. First, there are billions of people living in extreme poverty in other parts of the world.
1. There are 6 billion people on this planet, and more than 1 billion of them (17%) live on less than a dollar a day.
2. 50% of the world’s population struggle to survive on less than $2.00 per day.
3. 11 million children die each year, most under the age of five and more than 6 million from completely preventable causes like malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia.
4. 114 million children do not attend primary school.
5. More than 1 billion people do not have access to safe water and over 2 billion lack access to basic sanitation.
6. So, that’s a snap shot of the first group of the poor – the billions that live in extreme poverty in other parts of the world.
C. The second group of poor are the millions who live in poverty our country.
1. There are people living in our country, and right here in our community who are in need.
2. Now compared to the poor around the world, the poor in our country might be considered incredibly rich, and yet they are in real need.
3. They are often oppressed and exploited, and many are homeless and hungry.
4. The people who fall into this group are often single parents, the disabled, the elderly, the long term unemployed, and the working poor.
5. The “working poor” is a term used to describe individuals and families who maintain regular employment but remain in relative poverty due to low levels of pay and dependent expenses.
6. According to the U.S. Government Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 6.4 million working poor in the year 2000.
7. By 2003, the number had grown to 7.4 million.
8. An article in Business Week magazine said a more accurate figure would be 28 million. They would count those at least 18 years old who are employed and making less than $9.04 an hour, which is a full-time salary of $18,800 per year.
9. It does no good to argue about figures - whose numbers are right?
10. We know that in reality there are many workers without marketable skills who face low wages, economic exploitation, and unpleasant working conditions.
11. We know that it is very difficult for them to escape their personal and economic situations.
12. We know that in many cases, they are working multiple part-time jobs and that benefits like medical insurance and retirement plans are not available to them.
13. The point that I want to make is that not all the poor are the homeless, and the unemployed.
14. A recent article I clipped from a local paper said that “the hunger statistics in the Central New York area are staggering. Forty-one percent of the hungry are children, and 8 percent are seniors. More than half have a family member who works, but more than half also earn less than $10,000 a year for the entire household. And it’s not just the uneducated poor – 62 percent of hungry adults have a high school or college education.”
II. Question #2: What are the Causes of Poverty?
A. Certainly, many answers could be given. Let me offer a few from the Bible.
B. First, Injustice causes poverty.
1. Proverbs 13:23 says, “The field of the poor yields abundant food, but without justice, it is swept away.”
2. In other words, the immoral, unethical actions of others can cause poverty.
3. How often have we heard about scams that take the resources that senior citizens have saved?
4. The strong do prey on the weak. The rich often exploit the poor.
5. Surely we are all distressed when we hear about company executives taking huge salaries and bonuses for themselves while providing only minimal wages and no benefits for their workers.
6. See, through little fault of their own, some people end up in poverty because of injustice.
C. Second, Wrong choices causes poverty.
1. Proverbs 23:21 says, “The drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty and drowsiness will clothe them with rags.”
2. We have all seen people stumbling down streets drinking hard liquor from a bottle in a paper bag. Alcohol and other drugs can reduce a person to poverty.
3. But so can other addictive behaviors such as gambling.
4. Other wrong choices can include running with the wrong crowd, and dropping out of school.
5. Many of these choices are just that – bad and foolish choices.
6. But we also have to recognize the situations that so many find themselves in that leads to bad choices.
7. Many of the homeless have serious psychiatric illnesses, and many use drugs to try to self-medicate.
8. And so many who choose wrong paths never had the family support, healthy examples, nor spiritual guidance to help them along the way.
D. A third cause of poverty is laziness.
1. Proverbs 10:4 says, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth.”
2. And Proverbs 19:15, “Laziness brings on deep sleep, and the shiftless man goes hungry.”
3. Certainly, there are people who are so lazy that they just don’t want to work.
4. But it is far too simplistic, and just wrong, to say that all the poor are just lazy, and that if they would just get a job and work hard then everything would work out for them.
E. We must be very careful about jumping to judgment in these matters.
1. In the case of every poor person there are so many issues that have lead to their situation.
2. My purpose in mentioning some of the causes of poverty, is to help us be more sensitive and aware of the complexity of people and their situations.
3. In the end, the most important question isn’t how or why did they get there, but what can we do to help.
III. Question #3: What Does God Have To Say About The Poor?
A. If I had to summarize the message of God about the poor it would be summarized in the three words of the title of this sermon: REMEMBER THE POOR.
1. How easy it is to forget this basic teaching of the Bible: God loves the poor and so should we!
2. It’s hard to read the Bible and miss this tenant, but we often do.
3. God’s message from the beginning to end of THE BOOK is the same.
4. God has always had a special place in His heart for the poor, and an important test of godliness has always been a concern for the poor.
5. Exploitation or neglect of poor people has always made God’s blood boil.
B. Here is a sampling of verses:
1. Leviticus 25:35, “If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.”
2. Deuteronomy 15:7-11, “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought: "The seventh year, the year for canceling debts, is near," so that you do not show ill will toward your needy brother and give him nothing. He may then appeal to the LORD against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.”
3. Proverbs 14:31, “He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.”
4. Proverbs 21:13, “If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.”
5. Proverbs 22:22-23, “Do not exploit the poor because they are poor and do not crush the needy in court, for the LORD will take up their case and will plunder those who plunder them.”
6. And from our Scripture reading in Isaiah 58:6-7, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?”
7. Turning to the New Testament, we see that Jesus chose ministry to the poor as an identifying mark of His Messianic ministry.
a. In Matthew 11, when John the Baptist was in prison and experiencing doubt, Jesus sent this message to him, “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.” (Mt. 11:5)
8. And I’m sure you remember the rich young man who wanted to follow Jesus, and what Jesus told him to do.
a. “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (Mt. 19:21)
9. Jesus gave these instructions in Luke 14, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Lk. 14:12-14)
10. Jesus also taught us that how we treat the poor will be a criteria for judgement.
a. In the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, Jesus said, “Then he will say to those on his left, ’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ "They also will answer, ’Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ’I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” (Mt. 25:41-45)
11. The early church certainly took all these commands seriously. We see throughout the book of Acts that the early church ministered to the poor.
a. In Acts 2:44-45 we read, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”
b. In 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.”
c. In Acts 6 the seven servants were appointed to feed the widows.
d. And during Paul’s missionary journeys he was often raising funds for the poor in Judea.
e. Finally, Galatians 2:9-10 reads, “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.”
12. If you feel like I have used too many verses, I apologize, but I wanted us to get the sense of just how much God’s Word addresses this subject.
C. Beyond these OT commands we have examined, God also gave the Israelites some helpful principles or systems for dealing with poverty.
1. There was the principle of gleaning.
a. Farmers were told not to harvest their fields all the way to the edge, nor to go back over their fields, vineyards or groves a second time, so that some of the harvest could be left for the poor to glean.
b. This allowed the poor to work and receive a just reward for their work.
2. There was the principle of timely pay.
a. The law taught employers to pay their workers before sundown so that they could feed themselves and their families and not go hungry waiting for payday.
3. Finally, there was the principle of no permanent loss of freedom or land.
a. If a person became so impoverished that they had to sell themselves as a slave to pay their debts, they were to be released every seven years.
b. Therefore, in reality, you never sold yourself, you only sold your services for the number of years left before the sabbatical (or seventh) year.
c. And if you became so impoverished that you had to sell your ancestral lands, there was a law that said every 50 years was the year of Jubilee and all the lands reverted back to the family of origin.
d. These two laws broke the cycle of poverty in a family’s life.
e. It gave even the poorest families a light at the end of the tunnel – a time when they would be able to start over again.
4. Let’s talk about one final question: How can we help the poor?
IV. Question #4: How Can We Help The Poor?
A. Allow me to give us several practical suggestions.
1. First, we can pray God gives us a heart like His for the poor. It really begins in the heart!
2. Second, we can pray God provides for them through us.
3. Third, we can give to help the poor.
a. Part of our weekly contributions goes into our benevolence ministry to help the needy, both in our community and here in our congregation.
b. Anytime you want to give additional funds directly for benevolence, just make a notation on your check.
c. What we are doing in our Christmas Basket Outreach is a great example of helping the poor. I’m so excited about the generosity of our congregation and the willingness to do this kind of ministry. Next Thursday we will be assembling the baskets, and then we will be distributing them on Thursday and Friday. Why not get involved, one way or another?
d. There’s so many other ways to give to help the poor.
e. There are ways to sponsor a child in a developing country.
f. There are organizations to raise money to feed the world and provide better water and sanitation.
g. There are organizations that respond to emergencies and disasters.
h. We can volunteer for organizations like the Rescue Mission or the annual CROP walk.
B. But about this time in the sermon, if not before, I’m sure all the objections begin to arise.
1. “But some of them don’t deserve it…” Did you notice anything in any of the Scriptures we examined today about helping the “deserving poor?”
2. “But I don’t have money to spare…” Regardless of how much or little we make, God wants us to be willing to share. Almost always we will have to cutback in order to do that.
3. “But the problem is too big…what can one person do?”
C. You remember the old story of the man on the beach throwing the starfish back into the ocean. Another man approached him and said, “You know you can’t save them all.” “You’re right, but I made a difference for that one. And this one…” as he tossed a starfish back into the water.
D. I read a story about a man who frequented a certain convenience store.
1. One day when he stopped for his paper, he noticed the convenience store owner had tears in his eyes. So he asked him why.
2. The Owner said, “Do you see that bench over there? There’s a older woman who comes every day and sits on that bench knitting for an hour or two. Buses come and go, but she never gets on and no one ever gets off the bus to meet her. The other day I took her a cup of coffee and sat with her for a while. I discovered that her only son lives a long ways away. She last saw him about two years ago when he boarded a bus right there. The son is married now and the mom has never met his wife nor seen their new child. The old lady said, ‘It helps to come here and wait. I pray for them as I knit little things for the baby, and I imagine them in their little tiny apartment, saving money to come home. I can’t wait to see them.’”
3. The store owner took a deep breath and told the man that just a few minutes ago he had looked out the window and there were the woman’s son and his family getting off the bus. When they fell into her arms, the look on her face was the nearest thing to pure joy he had ever seen. He said, “I’ll never forget the look on her face as long as I live.”
4. The customer left the store thinking about the owners story. Then he realized something.
5. The next day when the customer returned to the store, he asked the owner, “You sent her son the money for the bus ticket, didn’t you?”
6. The store owner with eyes full of love and a big smile on his face said, “Yes, I sent him the money.”
7. The customer later repeated the story to others saying, “I’ll never forget the look on the store owner’s face.”
E. I’ve seen my share of heavenly looks on the faces of recipients of acts of kindness.
1. And I’ve felt my heart swell and a smile break forth on my face as I’ve been a part of helping the poor.
2. It’s a great ministry and it’s a great feeling.
F. Looking after the poor is not an optional idea for Christians today.
1. Like Lucy, we can’t absolve ourselves of blame. God just won’t allow us to do that!
2. If we go through all kinds of religious practices, but forget to minister to the poor, then we have missed something that is very important to God.
3. Let’s remember the poor, there is too much at stake for them and for us! Amen!
