Thursday - Act On It - The Night That Changed the Poor
Why does it matter if God uses the poor? Why does it matter to us, if we’re not poor by the world’s standards, if this is a night that changes the poor? We may not be nomadic shepherds sleeping with the sheep in a field, but this still matters to us.
We are in spiritual poverty. It’s different from material poverty, but very important to recognize.
A sign is offered to us, from the poorest among us to the wealthiest, and it’s a poor baby in a manger. This comes to us direct from God, though his heavenly messengers. God helps us see our own poverty – spiritual and material – by his standards rather than our own.
When we see our own spiritual poverty compared to Jesus, we realize we need to get up and get to this baby, get to Jesus’ bedside just like those shepherds. A spiritually or materially wealthier group may not have bothered – they may have considered themselves just fine – but the poor are those God started with because they are those who know they need outside help.
When we have enough, we can’t hunger for food. It’s the same with God – if we consider ourselves spiritually rich and self-reliant, we won’t bother with reliance on God.
This is why, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor, or poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.”
In the Christmas story, all of humanity sees its poverty, its spiritual poverty, compared to this divine baby. We realize we are unable to get back to relationship with God, and yet he comes to us anyway. We realize we can’t buy our way out of this debt to God (called sin), so someone else bailed us out and paid it off.
In the Christmas story, God helps us see our own poverty – spiritual and material.
In so doing, we realize the world’s standards are empty – we are all poor compared to God’s standards, and all need him equally. This can motivate us to extend to others, who we now recognize as spiritually poor themselves, the same generosity God has shown to us.
Challenge: Give to the spiritually and materially poor in your life! Toy drive, food bank, direct to a friend. Tell them why – because God has been generous and loving to you.
Reminder: We are reading the Bible in sync as one community – so check out today’s reading here.
Read the Bible in Sync Today
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Matthew 6:1 says “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.
Jesus began with a general principle: Beware of practising your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them.
This is one of three examples Jesus uses to illustrate. Look at two others in the next two weeks involving prayer and self-denial.
First example, however, is giving: 2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Jesus acknowledges that his followers are not the only nice, generous people out there, giving is not an exclusively Christian activity.
Says to his followers in v. 2 & 3 "when" you give to the needy – simply assumes you will give to help others.
This would be a big part of Jewish society...a box at every synagogue where money for the poor could be placed.
Another clue: do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do. Even the hypocrites...whose habit of acting religious Jesus is about to attack quite vigorously...are known to give to the poor.
Clearly Jesus doesn’t have to bother commending giving itself, it’s fairly universal.
Same today. Jesus’ followers don’t have a monopoly of giving, or niceness.
Charitable giving by Canadians was $10.6B in 2010
Some Christian, some not. Giving is widespread.
When Jesus talks about giving to the poor, then and today, he’s not claiming that Christians are the only givers, only kind people.
What he does want, however, is for his followers to give for particular reasons. More concerned about motivations than money.
Wants them to hide their giving from others, hide from self, show to God.
Today, we look at hiding it from others
He wants his followers to hide their giving from others. Drive a Prius because it’s eco friendly, not for looks.
Wants his followers to give generously to others whether the collection is in a basket or a bag, whether by pre-authorized giving or in cash, whether recognized by the charity or not.
Wants their motivation to be something other than being noticed by others.
Question: How does Jesus expect his followers to give like others, and how does he expect their giving to be different?
