All the Poor and Powerless

I'm trying to post a verse very Wednesday and share my thoughts on it. My week has been crazy busy with tests, papers, homework, and quizzes. So, here it is one day late! 

Over the last few weeks, The Lord has been convicting me about how little I consider the poor. It started with a discussion in my philosophy class about what we are obligated to do for the poor. Here is the augment that sparked the discussion.

1) Suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care are bad.
2) If it is in our power to prevent something bad from happening, without sacrificing anything of comparable moral significance, we ought, morally, to do it.
3) It is in our power to prevent suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care, without sacrificing anything of comparable moral significance.
4) Therefore, we ought, morally, to prevent suffering and death from lack of food, shelter, and medical care.

To explain the argument, he used an example of a man walking by a pond. The man looks to his right and sees a young boy drowning. Would it be wrong for the man to not help the drowning boy? We thought yes. It is in his power to save the boy without sacrificing much. By not saving the boy, he could keep his pants from getting wet. But is that a worthy reason? Of course not. It would be wrong of him to walk by and pay no attention as the young boy dies.

So, what's our excuse for not helping the hungry, naked, sick, and homeless? We know they are there. what would we be giving up to help them? Here are a few of the oppositions to the argument that continued to convict me.

Some have brought up that it is different if the hurting are across the world in Africa. How can we be expected to do anything for them without sacrificing ourselves? This argument is unrealistic because of technology. With technology we can help others no matter how far they may be. 

Others have said that no one else is helping, so why should we be morally obligated when other people, more capable people even, could help but don't? Lets consider the drowning boy case, would it be okay for the man to not save the boy if there was a crowd of people also watching the boy drown. No, so other people don't change your obligation to help. 

This discussion took a few days, so this is just the best summary I can give. But either way, it kicked my butt. I've always heard in church how we should help others and care for the poor and less fortunate. I had always perceived that duty as something extra. I wasn't obligated to help the poor, but it would be very kind of me to do so. But sitting in philosophy class, listening to a professor and students who don't love Jesus talk about how we are obligated to give up everything that we don't actually NEED to help others no matter the distance, no matter what others are doing to help, and no matter your financial standing. I was shocked at how selfish I am. As a follower of Christ, I should be sacrificing myself for others daily like Jesus did. But there I sat in philosophy class trying to think of an excuse that would get me out of this moral obligation. 

Then he showed a clip from the movie Beyond Borders with Angelina Jolie. I was appalled. I sat there and pointed my fingers at the rich people in that movie and asked myself, how could someone know there is hurting and hunger in the world and do nothing? Then I realized that the rich people in that movie represent me in real life. I am fully aware of needs in many areas both local and global. Yet I spend money on food I don't finish, clothes I don't need and sometimes never even wear. In comparison to the needs in the world, I have no generosity in my body. It hurt because I wasn't realizing this for the first time. I'd seen it before. I've cried over my lack of generosity and I've cried and prayed over the poor in our world. It's only a matter of time before I forget and believe once again that I will be discontent without that $50 dress that I don't need. I feel entitled to what I have when what I have is not even mine and it is certainly not for making myself look great. I have money for the sole purpose of bringing glory to God. 

Unfortunately as we switched topics in philosophy I began the process again. I put my conviction behind me and went on spending money on myself. But thank the Holy Spirit for his persistence in showing me a better way.

Three nights ago, at Bible study we read chapter 3 in the book Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller. The chapter was on greed. It talks about how greed is so discreet and we don't see it in ourselves. I won't go into all the details, but it was a lovely time of fellowship and I knew I needed to be more generous and needed a new mindset toward money. I asked the girls to pray that I would be a generous person and that I would think of my money as a way to further Gods kingdom. That I would not only let go of the tight grip I have on my money and possessions, but that I would be bold in sharing the gospel. 

I left feeling encouraged and hopeful for how God would mold my heart and use me to make others glad in God. But God wanted me to fully understand how much I had in comparison to others and how I have no reason to ever be discontent with what He's given me. In my sociology class yesterday morning, he showed me that I have every reason in the world to be generous. We discussed how the US citizen compares to citizens in other parts of the world in terms of income and wealth. We went over a lot of charts and numbers but here's one that stuck with me. The average income for a US citizen is $50,000. The average income for someone in the Congo is $347 a year! That's the lowest, but there were so many other countries with low average incomes. The US is the seventh richest nation in terms of how much income an average American makes.

On a global scale, 80% of people live on less than $2 a day! Yet I compare myself to the people around me and have the nerve to feel inadequate. I feel like I have it so rough. But God is opening my eyes to how rich I am and hopefully will be giving me opportunities to give back. 

So yesterday I decided to see what the Bible says about the poor. And I found this verse! 

"She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy." -Proverbs 31:20

I love this verse because I want to be her. I want to not feel entitled to anything. I want to be generous with money and possessions. I want to love serving others above myself. And I want to be content in all circumstance, not comparing myself to anyone.