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Showing posts with label Practical. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Practical. Show all posts
Should we only aid those who ask for economic help, or should we offer it?
Should
we only aid those who ask for economic help, or should we offer it?
Answer: Pursue others.
“We love because he
first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
– Psalm 72:1
Should we give out handouts?
Should
we give out handouts?
Answer: It Depends. Is your response Gospel driven?
Are you engaging the person? Are you
loving the person? Is the handout for the person? Or is it a quick fix that is
not for the person but instead is given to appease a guilty conscience? Is it
in communicating the Gospel?
A handout can be harmful, if not
partnered with the Gospel. Within the idea of justice is the idea of doing no
harm. And as we meet those who are in need, we don’t want to do them harm.
But to answer this question, we have
to think beyond the question, “Should we give out handouts?” If you are giving
a handout simply because it is an easy way out of a situation or because it
swages your guilt or it enables you to not have to engage the person, whether
or not it is harmful, the motive is wrong and dangerous. If this is your
motive, you are not partnering with the Gospel. And most of us have done this.
The proper question is, “How in this
moment of time and situation do I engage this person with the Gospel, which
will bring about justice and promote their good? How do can I ambassador of
Christ and call them to the Gospel, in this moment?” Sometimes that is not
giving a handout and at times it will be giving a handout. But always it will
be about presenting Christ. One of the reasons this question is hard is because
it cuts us to the heart. It is not the lack of handouts or the plenty of
handouts that are the problem. One of the reasons so many remain in
these conditions, is because people don’t truly engage them and become a part
of their lives. It is the fact that we are not engaging people on a personal
level with the Gospel that is the problem. Yes, sometimes giving out a handout
can be harmful, but that should challenge us to be more engaging, more loving,
and to preach the Gospel more, for this can overcome, even a handout given out
with false motives.
So the question will be, “Yes and
amen, I agree with all this and I want to engage more, but what about those
times when the interaction is brief?” The answer is the same - engage them with
the Gospel in that moment as best as you can. One time it may be best to give a
handout and another it might be devastating. Pray and let God walk with you and
teach you and help you to discern. You will make mistakes, both ways, but don’t
harden your heart and don’t stop loving. Keep pursuing to learn how to love in
these situations. Do not be afraid. Make a decision as best as you can, and
trust that God loves you and will use whatever you do (that is part of the
Gospel, too), even when you make mistakes. And talk with those in the
“household of faith”. Much of these practical situations and scenarios will be
learned as we walk together in our community to meet the specific needs that
are around us.
Part 8: Practical
Practical
Questions:
Where do we learn how to minister to the poor and destitute in a
practical way?
Reading:
Now the question
is, “How do I live this out in a practical way?” We discover the answer to this
question together as a body of Christ. Christ said that the world will know
that we are His by how we love one another. We live out the truths of scripture
together. We question and we listen and we share what God has taught us. We
encourage and challenge each other to keep pressing into the Gospel and God’s
Word. And we seek God together. And we
have a God, who is walking along side us, helping us to be the church. More
than helping, He leads the church. And He will lead us into practical ways to
serve the poor and downtrodden.
Scripture reading:
2 Timothy 3:16,17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the
man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Questions:
What
are some practical ways you can apply these lessons to your own life?
How
can you encourage these lessons in others?
How
does your life need to change to live these principles?
Who are some people in your daily life that you can minister
too? In your everyday life is God providing opportunities to minister to the
poor?
What is available in your neighborhood? What opportunities are there?
Part 5: Engaging people
Engaging
people
Questions:
The scriptures call us to engage in social justice, what does this look
like?
Reading:
Let
each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of
others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking
the form of a servant, being born in the
likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming
obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
-- Philippians
2:4-8
The Gospel is very personal. Christ was not aloof,
acting from a distance in order to bring about salvation for His people. He
came near, was born as a babe, and walked and lived among us. He “made himself
nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” God
came into our world. This means that obeying God in ministering to the poor and
catching His heart for the poor does not happen from a distance. There is no
aloofness. This is at the heart of the command of Christ,
“All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I
am with you always, to the end of the age.”
This command challenges us to engage people, because it
can only be fully obeyed by coming near and being involved in people’s lives.
In Jesus’ ministry, he didn’t just preach, he was involved in the
lives of those around Him. The Pharisees often used this fact as a means for
accusing Jesus. “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing
near to hear him. And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, ‘This man
receives sinners and eats with them.’” The Pharisees were upset because Jesus
engaged “sinners” in such a personal way.
This disturbed them. How could a righteous man associate with these
“sinners”? This truth doesn’t just strike and disturb the heart of the
Pharisees, it disturbs my heart as well. I prefer being aloof, distant, and
safe. I don’t want to touch someone who
is dirty or smelly. I don’t want to bring someone who is needy and annoying
into my life. . . .
But God loves us, and He knows the richness of what
it means to minister to the poor. And He knows that these riches cannot be
gained from being far away from the poor. He knows the joy of what it will be
like in our lives if we love as Christ loved. If we engage people as Christ
engaged people. And this is why He commands it and why He has ordained that
there will always be the poor in the land. There is richness as the poor and
rich interact with each other. They both desperately need each other, neither
one being better than the other, but both being richer for the other. James
writes,
“Let the lowly
brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like
a flower of the grass he will pass away. For
the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls,
and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of
his pursuits. . . . My brothers, show no
partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly,
and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to
the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,”
while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my
feet,” have you not then made distinctions
among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 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?
But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress
you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme
the honorable name by which you were called?”
Where do we find our riches in how we interact with people - are
we seeking prestige and comfort or are we seeking something that far outweighs
the riches of this world? We need the poor, the physically, emotionally, and
mentally challenged, the orphan, the unwanted, and the downtrodden in our
lives. These people are not people to be sat down at our feet, they are to sit
with us and near us. Do we realize that what we have from this world is so
fragile and fading, but it is in these interactions with others in the church
both rich and poor that we gain something that is eternal? This happens as we
in a very personal and engaging way preach the Gospel to one another and come
together as the Body of Christ.
So we don’t see ministry to the poor as something we do for others
to help them. We do pursue relationships because we desperately need them as a
part of our lives, and we need them to speak the Gospel into our lives,
reminding us of the love of Christ. Therefore aloofness or setting the poor at
our feet or in the back of the room is not ok with us. We see them as a
treasure and desperately want them to be a part of our lives, so that in their
riches, they can serve us. And my hope is that those who are poor materially in
this world, but rich in faith, will also not stand aloof and keep their
distance from those of us who need the riches of faith that they have to
offer. Because when it comes down to it,
we are all poor and in need of one another in the body of Christ, and we must
engage each other and be involved in each other’s lives.
Paul
writes,
“So
if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any
participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by
being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one
mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more
significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own
interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among
yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of
God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself
nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the
point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and
bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
We have to remember, we are not equal with God, our
kingdoms are not what we live for. We no longer live for ourselves. We live for
something far better. We have laid our lives down for the Gospel. When it comes
to the poor, the destitute, the broken, our purpose is not to just address a
physical or social need or injustice (although this is important), but to
address and engage the person and show them Jesus, because God in such a mighty
and personal way engaged us with a powerful love.
Scripture reading:
Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to
ministering to the poor.
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise
according to worldly standards, not many were
powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the
world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the
strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are
not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of
him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us
wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as
it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Luke
6:32-36
“If
you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love
those who love them. And if you do
good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners
do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you
expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to
get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do
good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and
you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the
evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Questions:
Jesus didn’t just preach he met physical needs as well, why?
When is giving a handout engaging the poor and when is it only making
our consciences feel better, but in reality not engaging the person? When is it
showing the Gospel?
Who do we value in this world? Are the poor and destitute, people that
we desire as a treasure?
In ministering to the “undeserving poor” what does it mean to engage
them?
Do you engage with people that are different from you, awkward,
or make you feel uncomfortable? Why? What is your view of this attitude?
Johnathan Edwards wrote,
in many cases, we may, by the rules of the gospel, be obliged to give
to others, when we cannot do it without suffering ourselves. As if our
neighbor’s difficulties and necessities be much greater than our own, and we
see that he is not like to be otherwise relieved, we should be willing to
suffer with him, and to take part of his burden on ourselves. Else how is that
rule of bearing one another’s burdens fulfilled? If we be never obliged
to relieve others’ burdens, but when we can do it without burdening ourselves,
then how do we bear our neighbor’s burdens, when we bear no burden at all? Though
we may not have a superfluity, yet we may be obliged to afford relief to others
who are in much greater necessity. As appears by that rule, Luke 3:11, “He that
hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat,
let him do likewise.” — Yea, they who are very poor may be obliged to give for
the relief of others in much greater distress than they. If there be no other
way of relief, those who have the lightest burden are obliged still to take
some part of their neighbor’s burden, to make it the more supportable. A
brother may be obliged to help a brother in extremity, though they are both
very much in want. The apostle commends the Macedonian Christians, that they
were liberal to their brethren, though they themselves were in deep poverty. 2
Cor. 8:1, 2, “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed
on the churches of Macedonia: how in a great trial of affliction, the abundance
of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their
liberality.”
What do you think
about this statement?
Resources:
Part 4: In the daily life
Daily Life/The Challenge
Questions:
Do you see the Kingdom of God as physically or spiritually present, or
both?
When do you minister to the poor? Under what settings?
Reading:
“Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified,
self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in
behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is
good, 4 and so train the young women to love
their husbands and children, 5 to be
self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own
husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise,
urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show
yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show
integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot
be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to
say about us. 9 Slaves are
to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be
well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not
pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the
doctrine of God our Savior.”
--Titus 2:2-10
You might be wondering
what this verse has to do with poverty, well, quite a bit actually. Here Paul
is describing daily behavior in the church – being sober minded, homemaking,
good works, speech, and service – and he states “that the word of God may not
be reviled.” It is the everyday life of the believer, his everyday actions, and
his everyday interactions with others that “adorn the doctrine of God our
Savior.” In the Law, ministering to the poor is described as something that is
done in the everyday life of a righteous man. It is not this separate grand act
committed, but a natural outgrowth of the life of the righteous. Ministering to
the poor is an everyday life thing because, “the poor will never cease to be in
the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You will freely open your hand to
your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.’” This understanding is
evident in Job, when he cries out,
“If I have
withheld anything that the poor desired,
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
(for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow),
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
or the needy without covering,
if his body has not blessed me,
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
because I saw my help in the gate,
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.
or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
or have eaten my morsel alone,
and the fatherless has not eaten of it
(for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father,
and from my mother's womb I guided the widow),
if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
or the needy without covering,
if his body has not blessed me,
and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
because I saw my help in the gate,
then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
and let my arm be broken from its socket.
For I was in terror of calamity from God,
and I could not have faced his majesty.
Job was not talking about grand
ministries to the poor or social agendas, but an everyday caring for people
that God placed in his life. The scripture states, “If there is a poor man with
you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the LORD
your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand
from your poor brother . . . .” The Christian is to be aware of the needs
around him, and in the ability that God has given him, he is to reach out to
meet those needs.
This
brings a lot of comfort to me. Why? Ministry to the poor does not have to be
this grand overwhelming all consuming ministry in my life. I can minister to
the poor as I go about my every day, and sometimes boring life. All I have to
do is keep my eyes open and take the opportunities that God places in my life
to love on people. So this message is not for those who have given every aspect
of their lives to the poor (and thank God for those people, we need them in the
body of Christ). This message is for me and for all of us in the body of
Christ, no matter what the circumstances may be.
The
Gospel is pervasive and engages the whole of who we are. In Christ, the Kingdom
of God has broken through into this world and our everyday lives. And how we
live our everyday lives demonstrates what type of Kingdom this is. When Christ
came to earth, He not only preached the gospel, but demonstrated what the
Kingdom of God was like by meeting fleshly physical needs. He healed the sick
and fed the hungry. He even saved men from a storm. Christians are not mystics, who see that the
only things that matter are the spiritual. The Kingdom of God is not this
mysterious mystical aspect of our lives.
The Kingdom of God is not a fantasy, but very real and very real in the
way it is manifested in our lives. The Kingdom of God acts on this world. This
Kingdom does not look on poverty and injustice and ignore it or walk away, but
instead acts like a Kingdom that is meant to rule and engages injustice and
brokenness. Early in the church, this aspect of the physical manifestation of
Kingdom of God is evident in the fact that a Church office was dedicated to
this fact – the deacon.
How
that plays out in mine and your life, is my asking God to keep me from
hardening my heart or turning a blind eye to the needs of others and asking God
to teach me to live with my hands opened wide to those God places in front of me
in this world. I am still learning, but that too is the Gospel as God
sanctifies me and helps me to grow.
God has ordained
poverty, and He has ordained that we love the poor. And so we know there will
be opportunities to minister to the poor in our lives. We can’t get away from
that fact. And as we understand this truth, we will also understand that God
enables what he commands in our lives. This is not an overwhelming burden God
has placed on us, but an overwhelming joy that God delights to bring us into.
God wants us to experience His heart and His excitement and delight as we
minister to the poor. This is a blessing that God brings us into.
Scripture reading:
Read these verses and discuss what they mean to you and in regards to
ministering to the poor.
Micah 6:6-8
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Psalm 72:1
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
Luke 3:11
And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who
has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”
Luke 10:9
Heal the sick in it and
say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
Luke 9:11
When the crowds learned
it, they followed him, and he welcomed them and spoke to them of the kingdom of
God and cured those who had need of healing.
Questions:
Under what conditions in our lives are
we to minister to the poor?
God starts off angry at Israel, even
though they claim to seek Him daily.
1“Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God. . . .
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2 Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God. . . .
And
then God calls them to a true fast that is worked out in their daily life.
7 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?
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?
What do these verses
in Isaiah 48 mean to you?
What does the Kingdom
of God look like in our world? Does it have physical ramifications?
Who has all authority
and power and rule? How is this displayed?
Jesus didn’t just preach he met physical needs as well, why?
How might this concept look in your
life?
Who are some people in your daily life that you can minister too?
Are there ministries that you can support?
What does the scripture mean when it says to not harden your heart and
to have your hands open to the poor?
Jonathan Edwards wrote,
Your money and your goods are not your own. They are only
committed to you as stewards, to be used for him who committed them to you. 1
Pet. 4:9, 10, “Use hospitality one to another, as good stewards of the manifold
grace of God.” A steward has no business with his master’s goods, to use them
any otherwise than for the benefit of his master and his family, or according
to his master’s direction. He hath no business to use them, as if he were the
proprietor of them. He hath nothing to do with them, only as he is to use them
for his master. He is to give everyone of his master’s family their portion of
meat in due season.
But if instead of that, he hoards up his master’s goods
for himself, and withholds them from those of the household, so that some of
the family are pinched for want of food and clothing. He is therein guilty of
robbing his master and embezzling his substance. And would any householder
endure such a steward? If he discovered him in such a practice, would he not
take his goods out of his hands, and commit them to the care of some other
steward, who should give everyone of his family his portion of meat in due
season? Remember that all of us must give account of our stewardship, and how
we have disposed of those goods which our Master has put into our hands. And if
when our Master comes to reckon with us, it be found that we have denied some
of his family their proper provision, while we have hoarded up for ourselves,
as if we had been the proprietors of our Master’s goods, what account shall we
give of this?
What do you think
about what he said?
Jonathan
Edwards wrote,
Many persons are ready to look upon what is bestowed for
charitable uses as lost. But we ought not to look upon it as lost, because it
benefits those whom we ought to love as ourselves. And not only so, but it is
not lost to us, if we give any credit to the Scriptures. See the advice
that Solomon gives in Ecc. 11:1, “Cast thy bread upon the waters, for
thou shalt find it after many days.” By casting our bread upon the waters,
Solomon means giving it to the poor, as appears by the next words, “Give a
portion to seven, and also to eight.” Waters are sometimes put for people and
multitudes.
What strange advice would this seem to many, to cast
their bread upon the waters, which would seem to them like throwing it away!
What more direct method to lose our bread, than to go and throw it into the
sea? But the wise man tells us, No, it is not lost; you shall find it again
after many days. It is not sunk, but you commit it to Providence. You commit it
to the winds and waves. However it will come about to you, and you shall find
it again after many days. Though it should be many days first, yet you shall
find it at last, at a time when you most need it. He that giveth to the poor
lendeth to the Lord. And God is not one of those who will not pay again what is
lent to him. If you lend anything to God, you commit it into faithful hands.
Pro. 19:17, “He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord, and that which
he hath given will he pay him again.” God will not only pay you again, but he
will pay you with great increase. Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given you,”
that is, in “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running
over.”
What do
you think about what he said?
Resources:
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