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Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Poor (10/25/04)
TITLE: On Being Poor
By thea english
10/25/04
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In this day and age in our culture, we’ve become so materialistic and status-conscious that we’ve forgotten the poor and their needs. We look down on those who come from the wrong side of the tracks or who don’t wear the latest outfits from prominent designers. There are even cases when a family won’t accept a person’s fiancée just he/she doesn’t have the best connections socially. But is this how we should treat the poor? The best example of how to treat the poor is Christ himself. He not only healed the sick, but he associated with people that the religious community hated. See, He understood what it meant to be compassionate and to love unconditionally. He forgave the adultereress, the tax collector, and the dying thief on the cross. He saw beyond their poverty and helplessness and healed them with His grace. In the book of James, it talks about how we shouldn’t let the rich people have a special place in the church while the poor are being tossed to the side. This is contrary to what Christ wants.


We should try to put ourselves in their shoes before judging them. Sometimes financial difficulty isn’t because God is punishing them. A young mother may have lost her husband and she has to work extra hours to provide for the family, an elderly person may have had his/her social security benefits reduced, a recent college graduate may be having a hard time finding work in his/her field. That’s the situation I’m in, I work part-time at a grocery store but I’m trusting God that in His timing and His will, I’ll find a job where my gifts can be used to minister to others.


And finally, sometimes you learn more about God’s unconditional love and grace when you’re lacking than when you have a lot. For example, when I work at the store, I usually get a few dollars in tips from customers and this helps a lot because it provides my bus fare and sometimes food for the night. On one night, God provided enough tips for me to get a cab home and to get food! So being poor doesn’t always mean misery, it’s just another opportunity to see God at work in our lives. I’ll admit, there are times when I wonder when God is going to open up doors for me and I cry sometimes about my situation but in the end, I know that His timing is perfect.