WHAT DOES SCRIPTURE SAY ABOUT POVERTY?

Penge Baptist Church10th July 2011

Luke 16:19-23• "There was a rich man who was dressed in

purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.”

Hard facts

Under 5 mortality - 16.9%Average life span – 50 yearsHIV adults – 4.4%Undernourished – 46%GDP per capita – 15p a day

Under 5 mortality – 0.5%Average life span – 79 yearsHIV adults – 0.1%Undernourished – negligibleGDP per capita – £50.20 a day

The faces of poverty

• Deuteronomy 15:11 “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy.”

• Proverbs 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.

• Acts 2:44-45, “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”

• 1 Timothy 6:18-19: “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age

The call to give charitably

A lack of charity?• 1 John 3:16-17 “If anyone has material

possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”

• Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money”

• 1 Timothy 6:10 “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”

The call to seek justice

• Psalm 11:7 “For the LORD is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face”. – Sex slavery– Undernourishment– Lack of education– Trade barriers

• Individual justice: Amos 5:24 “let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!”

• Structural justice “Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless. (Isaiah 10:1-2)”

• Provisions of the Law of Moses to protect the poor

Structural justice?In the UKfree educationfree healthcareincome supportunemployment benefitrule of lawpolitical stability

In poor countriesaid?private education and healthcare?the global market economy?vulnerability to natural disasters and political unrest?

Action for justice?

• Foreign debt of poor countries?• Fair trade?• Climate change?• Giving the poor scope to better themselves?

Seeing the poor as God does• 1 Corinthians 13:3 “If I give all I possess to

the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

What is his name?

Where are his parents?

When did he last eat?

What are his memories?

How old is he?

What language does he speak?

Did he ever go to school?

Why is there no food for him?

Is anyone helping him?

How does it feel, to sleep on cardboard?

Did anyone ever love them?

How do they live?

Is this a café?

Will they live to grow up?

What will they do then?

Have they ever seen green fields?

What are their names?

Where are their parents?

Why are they sleeping here?

Is it cold at night?

Why does one keep watch?

How do they live?

Why are their feet so sore?

When were they last hugged?

Are they sisters?

Why are they sleeping here?

Do people abuse them?

Does anyone love them?

Do they dream of a better life?

What is his name?

What is he thinking?

Did he once have a home?

Did he have a family? Children?

Is he an artist?

How long has he been here?

Is he ill?

“Transformational development”• Myers: “as good as transferring resources (by aid)…

can be, the process by which they are achieved can rob them of any goodness. A flawed process can make the poor poorer by devaluing their view of themselves and what they have…”

• Unless the poor person, made in God’s image, is treated as a subject in charity or justice – and that the poor person sees the action of God already in their lives - aid can be in vain

• Development needs to start from the story of the poor people themselves, Aid provider to act as a servant, not a technocrat. Evangelism essential.

God of the poor• The Bible focuses strongly on the material poor as

objects of God’s concern• Scripture encourages forms of sharing so that poor

people who are ‘disabled’ get a generous share of resources (that’s charity) and poor ‘able’ people have productive resources to earn a decent living (that’s justice)

• Link to equal value of human beings before God, and the role of (rich) humanity as stewards of God’s creation

• God is holding us responsible for maintaining charity and justice. Will we do it?

How might we respond?

• Sponsor a child with “Compassion” (£21 a month)

• Aim for our church – giving 10% of our income to charities

• Today – opportunity to give via “Tear Fund” to the East African disaster appeal