Involuntary poverty is not a Christian ideal, and the Gospels never indicate such a thing. Some people, such as certain monks, take a voluntary vow of poverty in order to grow closer to God. But that is not a vow that all Christians can take. Most of us have families to feed and support, so we are not all called to the monastic life. But what we are all called to do is give to the poor, without condition, as we are able to do so. It is not our place to lecture the poor about dignity, work ethic, and personal responsibility. We should simply see the face of Christ in the poor and do what we can to help them. And we should always know that we too could find ourselves stripped of our comforts, wealth, and possessions at any moment. The Golden Rule is the standard. If we would want others to help us, then we should help others as much as we can. The hungry man is enslaved to hunger, and our job is to liberate him with food. The homeless man is enslaved to the elements, and our job is to liberate him with shelter. The sick man is enslaved to sickness, and our job is to liberate him with medicine and healing. We must not presume to preach heavenly realities without meeting earthly needs. Jesus said, The poor you will have with you always. But that doesnt mean that we shouldnt work to eradicate poverty and labor to change social structures that create poverty. We should always seek nonviolent Christian solutions to evil systems that perpetuate misery and suffering. It requires divine humility to beg, and we should never be too proud or self-righteous to hold out our hands and request help. And we should never be too self-centered and self-righteous to refuse help to those that ask. As Christians we should be humble enough to beg and gracious enough to give. And in truly taking care of one another, we can be an example to the world. Selam, +GMK+
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 11:39:16 +0000
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