Photo: Ivan Samkov

Does God love poor people?

But Scripture tells us that God loves the poor. He is on their side simply because they are still persons worthy of respect. And in their helplessness, they put their trust in God.

uiw.edu - The Poor as God's Favorites | Reflections

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The Poor as God's Favorites

The Gospel story of Lazarus, the poor man, was as difficult to accept in Jesus’ time as it is in ours. Jesus lived in a society dominated by religion, where the easy explanation for poverty, illness, or disability was sin, either of the individual or his/her parents. Jesus countered this attitude by going around forgiving sins and curing people, even on the Sabbath when doing any work was forbidden. He explicitly upended the idea that poverty was due to sin when He declared that “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of God” and when He told how Lazarus easily made it into heaven, into the “bosom of Abraham.” Our culture today does not blame poverty on sin, but it implies a kind of moral failing when the foremost values in our society are success in a career, wealth, property, and the lifestyle that goes along with all that. Now, of course, most Americans do not see themselves as ranking with the rich and famous but as struggling middle class and consider work as virtuous. Indeed, Jesus also encouraged everyone to use his/her personal gifts or talents and even warned that much is expected from those who are given greater talents and abilities. The temptation in this is to value what we accomplish, not who we are as persons. And just like the people is Jesus’s time, we look down on the poor or the drug addicted, and while we do not declare them as “sinful,” we blame their poverty and their problems on some personal flaw or moral deficiency.

In fact, we prefer not to even think about the poor.

But Scripture tells us that God loves the poor. He is on their side simply because they are still persons worthy of respect. And in their helplessness, they put their trust in God. Most pointedly, in Matthew 25, Jesus tells us that when we clothe, feed, and house the poor, rescue those taken captive by drugs or human traffickers, or console the afflicted we do it all to Him – to His person. Our need to stay in the middle class at times seems to require all our efforts, even when the result is only a very tentative security. But in the story of Lazarus Jesus reminds us of what really counts: reaching out to Him for our inmost needs like the helpless poor or helping Him by helping the poor and change their lives.

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What does abundant life look like?

What does abundant life look like? True abundant life consists of an abundance of love, joy, peace (and the rest of the fruits of the Spirit – Galatians 5:22-23), not an abundance of “stuff.” Often, when you ask someone what it means to be a Christian, they focus on what happens when you leave this earth.

theredeemed.com - Abundant Life: How do I live in abundance? - The Redeemed

In order to live an abundant life, we must first change our mindset. We must WORK to focus on the blessings in our life — yes, you must WORK at it, because it is not going to come naturally. Our culture does not make it easy to live an abundant life. We’ve all caught ourselves scrolling through social media and saying to ourselves, “I wish I had a boat like that.” Or “Man, I wish I could take my family on a vacation like they did.” Or “I wish I had a job like that.” It is in our nature to desire material things and envy what others have. In order to achieve an abundant living mindset, we must stop this habit of constantly wanting more.

Give it a try!

As quickly as you can list 10 things you are grateful for in your life right now.

How’d you do? Was it easy for you to name 10 things?

You may have thought of things such as:

health

the roof I have over my head

my job

family

the food I have to eat

the sun is shinning

I am alive

I know Jesus

I challenge you to keep a running list. Add to it over time. Whenever you find yourself wishing for something you don’t have, seek out the positive. Example: I can’t believe I didn’t get the promotion I applied for! My family could have really used the extra money. Find the positive: By not having more job responsibility I am able to spend more quality time with my family. Sometimes you have to dig deep and look at the nitty, gritty. Sometimes you have to rise up and look at the situation from a different angle. But I promise you, the blessings are always there.

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