Deuteronomy 15:4 says "There need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you."
Deuteronomy 15:11 says, "There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward those of your people who are poor and needy in your land."
Jesus quoted this verse in Matthew 26:11.
Some questions...
1) How should the Church approach "the poor" in our community? In our Nation? Globally?
The Kingdom of God is to be a community where everyone is "open-handed" to the poor. We are to give freely to those with less because God is gracious to us. The Church needs to re-claim this position of giving directly to those in need.
2) In the current political climate, how does a Christian deal with the issue of poverty in the context of deciding who to vote for and who to vote against?
Many Christians are trying to raise awareness of the poverty issue in the political forum. While I'm not against this, I wonder if that is really what God had in mind when He told His people to be open-handed to the poor and to cancel loans every 7 years. I know our economy and culture is very different than Israel 3000 years ago, but can we learn a lesson from this vision of equality without it being a socialist society? Can we really "vote out poverty"?
3) When are the economic systems we "buy into" in need of renovation? Does the Church need to take the lead on this from a political position or should we lead by example?
Maybe if the church actually stepped up and did something for the poor, we wouldn't have to petition the government to hand out more aid.
I am really struck by the statement "There will always be poor people in the land." Is there a chance that there will always be poor people so that followers of Jesus have the opportunity to be generous?
I have so many more thoughts on this...I will keep processing this. I'm not settled yet on an answer.
Under the Mercy,
Jason
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