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Good News To The Poor?

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I have had several heated conversations in the past couple weeks about Jesus and the poor. It has been enlightening (yet very discouraging) to hear from Christian people (all of them middle class people) who actually believe that Jesus wants to "bless us" (they read that to mean financially - meaning get more money - as they explain it). This is a weird concept for me. So is the fact that many of these same people do not believe that Jesus has a special place for the poor, but they do believe that tithing is the financial commitment that pleases Jesus and that he will bless us financially if we do so.

Is the "good news to the poor" really that they can become middle class or even rich... is that even part of the good news???

This Sunday I am organizing our worship gathering at The Freeway around this whole idea of Jesus and the poor. To those of you who I have spoken to about this as of late, you may not want to come. I have a feeling you won't like what you are going to hear and see... or maybe you will.

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  1. Blogger mike said:
    2:48 PM  

    This is frightening / scary / discouraging to hear middle class Christians (& on a global scale most of us fit there) missing the boat in terms of understanding the message of Jesus.

    Some of this comes from the fact that a lot of NA Christians get their understanding of Jesus 2nd or 3rd hand - i.e. there are a lot of Christians who do not read the bible... they get their teaching from from other sources. No wonder, we often miss the message of the Kingdom.

    There is a sense in which as the gospel permeates a society there is an general elevation of finances. However, to take that as a "bless me" approach to life is to totally misread Jesus.

    Are you going to post some of the things you share sunday pm?

  1. Blogger Jaci said:
    4:12 PM  

    I don't know if we are going to make church this week cause of family stuff so like Mike I'd be curious to see your thoughts posted here as well.

    I think in doing what Jesus has commanded us to do, regardless of what it is ("tithing" or giving back in some way, taking care of the sick and poor, being Jesus centered, etc) we will be blessed. Whether that is financial or not, who's to say how God will choose to bless someone? The act of obedience is often a blessing in itself.

  1. Blogger wilsonian said:
    11:09 PM  

    Worse maybe are the (financially)poor who have been fed a bunch of prosperity teaching. They become so focused on gaining "what was stolen from them" that they cannot see Gospel.

    If I wasn't on call at work on Sunday, I'd come up for this. You don't do podcasts, by any chance?

  1. Anonymous Jamie Arpin-Ricci said:
    9:54 AM  

    I completely identify with what you are wrestling with here. After living and serving in our inner city neighbourhood for 5 years, even if I were to step out of YWAM and get a "normal job", I can't imagine leaving this community to pursue the dream of middle (upper) class comfort.

    What changed it for me? Choosing to root my entire life alongside the poor (as much as is possible when I am not actually poor, despite what the national average is) has been critical in this. I arrived as a student and am only recently feeling like I have earned the respect and understanding to begin to give back meaningfully.

    I wish I could be at the service.

    Peace,
    Jamie

  1. Blogger J9 said:
    1:23 PM  

    I guess it comes down to our motivation. Are we obeying God because we want to be blessed? Or are we obeying God because we love Him and want to please Him? The "prosperity gospel" that so many have swallowed is actually quite offensive to me, it smacks of greed and self-centered-ness. Last I checked, God wants us to love Him unconditionally, as He loves us unconditionally.

    Am I out of line here?...

  1. Anonymous Mike Todd said:
    10:27 AM  

    Oh boy... looking forward to hearing more about this.

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