Why are the poor blessed?
For those of us who have been in the church a long time, this term “Blessed are the poor” does not seem that startling or extreme, it almost seems normal. This thinking is thrown around a lot in the church and we have become desensitized to it. If you were to talk to someone who has never been to a church or been exposed to Christianity and said this, their immediate reaction might be “No, they aren’t” or “your crazy, right?”. This response is fitting, for what is being suggested is that those without wealth, means, or opportunity are better then those with. This phrasing elicits a questioning, even from me, about the truth of this statement. If anyone has spent any time around the poor community, they would know that the hardships brought about by poverty are often horrible and tragic. I would never want to switch places with my friends in South LA who share a one-room back house, probably about 400 sq ft, with four people of three different generations, barely making it paycheck to paycheck. So why don’t we cringe when we hear this term, spoken by Jesus in Luke 6:20b “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God”.
Two reasons why the poor are blessed and why this blog is named as such.
We must be poor to come to God.
The middle and wealthy classes are characterized by means and opportunity. Both have ability, resources and talent to provide to the world and as a result are entitled or feel entitled to whatever might be due them. But the poor have nothing. Nothing that the world desires, that is part of the reason they are outcasts and on the fringes of society. Poor have nothing to give and, consequently, are owed nothing. God saves those who are in every social-economic class: poor, middle class & wealthy. So we know that just being economically poor is not a requirement for salvation (although, it can’t hurt, Luke 18:18-30). However, in thinking that we can bring anything that God desires to salvation’s table, we immediately lose sight of the gospel. To be poor or “poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3) is to realize that we have nothing of value or worth in God’s economy. By contrast, to be middle-class or wealthy in spirit is to have means by which we then feel that God owes us something. Salvation then becomes not by grace but by merit. In God’s economy we are poor, meaning we have no means in which to purchase or earn our salvation, and therefore we, like the economically poor, have nothing to give God for salvation, it's only by his grace. We must be poor to come to God.
““If we are ashamed of the poor, we are ashamed of God, because God is not ashamed to choose the poor. God leans toward the poor, not away. Therefore, if we lean away, we lean against God.””
God’s very heart is for the poor.
Not only has God chosen many of the poor for himself, but He commands those who aren’t poor to rectify the inequity that poverty creates. James 2:5 “Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”. God’s economy is radically different then what we experience in this sinful world (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). His demonstration of care and concern for those who are lowly and forgotten should spur us into action as His ministers (2 Corinthians 5:20). This is the reason that we are concerned for those who are impoverished, those who are racially marginalized and exploited and the modern-day orphans who are found in foster care. This is who the church should stick their neck out and care for, defend and fight for because this is who God’s heart is for. John Piper says in his book Bloodlines, pg 186, “If we are ashamed of the poor, we are ashamed of God, because God is not ashamed to choose the poor. God leans toward the poor, not away. Therefore, if we lean away, we lean against God.”
This blog.
What we are seeking to discuss in this blog is issues concerning those who are marginalized and outcast in the world's economy. While not all our topics will be concerning those who are economically impoverished, in God's economy the marginalized and forgotten would be considered poor and in need of care. That is why, while issues of race and foster care/adoption may not strictly be about being poor (though often these issues are complex and poverty plays a role), we will discuss them alongside issues of poverty.