Written by: Tom Sheridan

Become the Poor

When the Gospel comes to you, it replaces a middle-class spirit with the spirit of the poor. That means at least four things:

Acknowledge That You are Needy.

The middle-class spirit says: “If I live a good life then I will have something of value to present to God. If I give to the poor, show mercy and do justice I can present something to God that he will value. I can do it.” But the Gospel says: “No one is good, no not one.” Even our good deeds are filthy rags. They stink of self-righteousness because they have been done to feel superior to others and to get leverage with God so that He owes us a good life. They have absolutely no value to God.

Acknowledge That You are Powerless

The middle class spirit says: “Okay, if I have failed, I will just pick myself up and try harder. I will turn over a new leaf. I may be down but I am not out. I’ll double my effort. Never say never, think positive, visualize success—I can do it. I will do it!” But the Gospel says: “Not only are you spiritually bankrupt with nothing of value to present to God, but you are totally incapable of reversing the situation.” It is like a drowning man trying to pull himself out by his own hair. No, it is worse. It is like a dead man trying to dig himself out of the grave. The Bible says: “You are spiritually dead. Totally powerless to do anything that would merit God’s approval.

Everything you have is a gift from God.

The Gospel calls us to discard the “rights mentality” prevalent in our culture today. This mentality common among the middle-class says that you have rights—you have worked hard to earn you money and possessions and you have the right to a life of comfort and the leisure time to enjoy the fruits of your labor. The Gospel says that everything we have is a gift from our heavenly father and given to us as stewards. We give up all of our “rights.”

Acknowledge That your only Hope is a Poor Man.

Trust in the King who became a poor man. He was born in a feed bin, in a cattle shed. At his dedication, his parents gave the smallest offering possible. He was raised in a poor family, in a poor community. All his life he was poor. “Foxes have holes and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” He entered Jerusalem on a borrowed donkey, had his last meal in a borrowed room, and was buried in a borrowed grave. He died naked. He had little the world valued and the little he had was taken away. He was discarded, thrown away. And only because he did all that do you have any hope. Your only hope is a crucified poor man. If this offends you, you are middle class in spirit and you cannot be saved. You must become the poor. And finally, the Gospel calls us and enables to…

Look at the list of words you wrote down to describe poverty. I found that my list had many words that described people in an undignified manner. Often when I encounter poverty here in the city, mostly in the form of people living without homes, I find myself passing judgment yet painfully wondering how I can love them. “How did you end up here?” I think to myself.

What are the causes of poverty? According to the Bible, there are three main causes of poverty:

1. Personal Sin (mentioned 36 times)
• Life of laziness (Prov. 6:6-11)

• Lack of self-discipline (Prov. 23:19-21)

1. Systematic oppression, injustice (mentioned 111 times)
• Delayed or unjustly low wages (Deut. 24:14-15; Eph. 6:8-9)
• Court or government systems weighted in favor of the great and wealthy (Lv. 19:15; Luke 19:1-8)

• High-interest loans and preying on the powerless (Ex. 22:22-27)

1. Calamity or natural disaster (all over the Bible, 118 times)
• Famine (Ruth 1:1-5; Gn. 42:5)

• Natural Disaster (Job 1:18-22)

What do you think?

I began to take a class at church called “Compassion by Command.” It’s about how Christians can minister to the poor, so it’s based on Scripture. I’m looking forward to the class especially since I began my quest to truly understand and learn how to love people like Jesus did, although I think I will ultimately never come close to his nature of love.

Anyway, what do you think of when you think of a person living in poverty? Try thinking both urban poverty and poverty in other nations. This was an exercise we did in the class. Just think of all the things you associate with poverty, politically correct or not.

I was recently upset with a friend for several complex reasons. I was considering whether or not it was worth it to continue the friendship, and whether or not it might actually be harmful to me if we continued being friends.

However, I think making a decision like ending a friendship is very difficult. It’s like people have said, you have to be careful. I think another thing to remember is that people aren’t just people; they’re relationships you have and each one has a purpose. I think often it’s easy to focus on yourself in a relationship and how the other person is x or y or z (and sometimes the other person is too hurtful).

But in the end, when I really question my relationships, I have to ask whether or not I’m being too selfish and whether or not I’m glorifying God. I’m not talking about just relationships with a significant other, but with any person. And then I always get reminded that each and every person is made in the image of God. It’s humbling. So anyway, yeah, it’s important to be careful when you start questioning a relationship.

In the end, I’m still friends with this person. I’m glad I thought about it, because now our friendship is getting better.