Blessed are the Poor!
Where was God when Naboth was killed? One cannot but wonder why after making so many rosy promises to protect and uplift the poor, God simply watched with folded hands when Naboth got kicked in the teeth (1 Ki 21:1-19). Unless we get a balanced view of what the Bible teaches about poverty, the poor will end up feeling guilty for being poor. You may even believe what the prosperity preachers proclaim, feel forsaken of God and lead dead-end lives.
Jesus looked at His poor disciples and said, “Blessed are you poor.” What a contrast to the slogan of the world, “Blessed are the rich!” Jesus’ kingdom concepts were upside down. He said, “Blessed are the poor... who hunger now... who weep now... when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you...” (Lk 6:20-22). Why are the poor fortunate? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor are no match for the rich in this world. This is a rich man’s world. It is no more survival of the fittest but survival of the richest. That’s why many poor feel they are unfortunate. But let us explore the brighter side of being poor.
Being poor does not mean you are out of God’s will; because, Jesus, as also the Old Testament, said the poor would always be there (Mt 26:11; Dt 15:11). Understanding this will ease your mind. If being poor is out of God’s will Jesus would have waved His magic wand over the poor widow who dropped her measly coins to make her a duchess. He let her go as poor as she was, with effusive praise, not to her but to the onlookers. It is God who makes the poor and the rich (Prov 22:2). What did Lazarus gain in this temporary world but poverty, hunger and sores? But in the kingdom of God, he was comforted in Abraham’s bosom. Jesus promised to the poor not the beggarly wealth and honour but the glorious kingdom of God.
May be crisis after crisis has exploded on your face forcing you to scramble for survival. Come out of your depression and guilt. Think of the poor saints (Acts 11:29,30) and the poor apostles (2 Cor 6:10) and beat your bad mood. With that we’ll go to see how we should conduct ourselves in times of poverty.
First and foremost, an attitude of gratefulness and contentment (Js 1:10). Jesus was disappointed that only one of the nine lepers out of ten came to thank Him. “Let the poor and needy praise Your Name” (Psa 74:21). A businessman who lost his entire business in one day came home on the verge of collapse saying, “I have lost everything.” But his wife lifted him up with the words, “You have not lost everything. You have me and the children.” That was the start of his brighter future. Often we fail to praise God for what we have. Praise and thanksgiving will pull you out of depression. Jesus never complained of His poverty. Father God chose an impoverished family for the birth and development of the divine Son. If poverty was good for Him it is good for us too. We owe God a debt of gratitude.
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done!
Then the most important thing to do is to maintain a diamondhard integrity at all cost. The world loves talent but rewards character. The poor are especially tempted to lie, steal, murder, commit adultery, cheat, knife friends in the back, etc., for monetary gain. Giving in is giving satan a heyday. “A poor man is better than a liar” (Prov 19:22). “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his way, though he be rich” (Prov 28:6; 30:8-9). Although life can be unfair it must be lived honourably.
Temptations to compromise your values to achieve your goal may be too strong. A false certificate may get you a job. A lie may bring in a good marriage proposal. Don’t fall for such cheap gimmicks. Trust in God and hold on to your veracity. God raises the poor from the dust. Promotion comes from Him. There are many shortcuts to get rich. But fast riches go away as fast as they come (Prov 28:22). A single rupee fairly got is worth a thousand that are not.
It is indeed an eyesore to see some poor mistreating the poor. Such are “like a driving rain that leaves no food” (Prov 28:3). A servant was realeased from his debt by his master. But he went out and treated a fellow servant despicably (Mt 18:28-30). Let gentleness be your watchword. God is gracious to you; be gracious to the poorer. It is not what you possess in life that gives you worth, but what you pass along to others.
The poor are treated like dirt, kicked around contemptibly and squashed (Prov 14:20). Never let oppression make you feel inferior and submissive. Friendlessness is downright awful. It is just one of the many problems of the poor. But understand that friendlessness is a prison that can be opened only from the inside. Befriend people by your civility. Voluntarily helping others and courteous behaviour can win you good and true friends.
Poor students may be given less marks and beaten for small errors, while the rich kids get a big headstart over everyone else. The rich buy seats in Professional Colleges. Government aids hardly reach the poor. Justice is perverted as in the nefarious murder of Naboth, with no one to speak for him. Human rights are violated.
Even in a spiritual church, you may be asked to sit down on the floor and the chairs reserved for the rich (Js 2:2,3,6). The only gracious way to accept an insult is to ignore it. Develop a thick skin. You may be cast out (Isa 58:7), sold out (Am 2:6). Whatever may be your situation, remember God will do you justice (Psa 140:12). The rich may trust in chariots, horses, wealth and the human support they enjoy. But you trust in the all-powerful Name of the Lord (Psa 20:7). He will step in for you. Borrowing is not a sin. But borrow minimally, because that takes you into bondage (Prov 22:7). When people extend help, accept it graciously without inferiority complex. Seek help in times of crisis from rich believers. God has commanded the rich to help you (Dt 15:7,8). The Judean saints were helped by other believers. But never take advantage of the command- ment.
Poverty is not the end of the road and you should not let circumstances dictate your entire future. Neither are you born with ineptitude. This world offers unlimited latitude for anyone who cares. So don’t let yourself slip into self-pity and stagnation. The Bible has some suggestions for you to be a better pilot of your life. Number one counsel is diligence and hard work. Slothfulness is a guaranteed success-killer, but success will follow the diligent like a shadow. “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov 10:4). If you are a student, study assiduously and take up an evening job for an hour or two. A summer job can be a blip on the road to success. If you are a housewife do your best for your home and generate income like the woman of proverbs 31. If you are jobless, hunt for jobs. “Passion and the urge to action are the very stuff of life. Without that passion and urge there is a gradual oozing out of hope and vitality, a setting down of lower levels of existence, a slow merging into non-existence,” writes Jawaharlal Nehru in Discovery of India. Let your motto be, “Work hard, play fair and trust God.” Brooding with your chin in the cup of your palms is not going to get you anywhere.
Every roadblock has a way around it. So never stop trying. When one of our former Prime Ministers, Mr. Morarji Desai, attended an interview in his youthhood, he was asked, “Well, young man, how would you feel if you do not get this job?” He quipped, “Who knows?
I may get something better.” Such optimism should shove you. Take hold of life. “Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor” (Prov 13:23; 28:19). But you must break the fallow ground, till the soil and labour to extract the food out. Opportunities are everywhere if only you look. That’s what the Preacher means when he says, “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes (to see the opportunities) and you will be satisfied with bread” (Prov 20:13; 24:33,34 — parenthesis mine). Be an early riser and you will see more than others. God cannot help you, if you cannot help yourself.
Riches may elude you but wisdom need not; for God gives wisdom to any seeker liberally. Wisdom scores higher than riches even in this world. Instead of running after riches, seek after wisdom. Make it a regular habit to plead God for wisdom. As you grow wise you will earn respect, friends and position. “Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. For he comes out of prison to be king although he was born poor in his kingdom” (Eccl 4:13,14; 9:15). Yes, one good head is better than a hundred strong hands. David was a poor shepherd boy (1 Sam 18:23). But, not by quirk, but by the grace of God and God-given wisdom he polevaulted to superstardom and assured for himself a permanent place in history.
The worst thing in your life, poverty, may contain seeds of the best. Because of your simple food and hard life you may be spared conditions like diabates, high blood pressure, certain heart diseases, obesity and arthritis that plague the rich. Jesus was a carpenter and that made him brawny, muscular and strong to walk kilometres and kilometres and climb mountains. You learn politeness because you need people (Prov 18:23). My first shock after marriage came when my father-in-law invited a street vendor inside the house, made him sit and offered him water to drink before he made his purchase. My husband is his facsimile. I still have difficulty relating to people because of my affluent background. My husband says it is arrogance. I know it is but I am struggling to get it out of my blood. I wish there is an artificial kidney to remove such vices from the blood. But for the poor, in general, politeness is their birthright.
You are naturally careful. My husband got beaten up for losing a fountain pen in school by his mother. Now he keeps his pen for ages. But I need a pen a week. Jesus had learnt to save leftovers (Jn 6:12). Such qualities cannot be learned from books. They have to be ingrained in a person by the way he is brought up over the years. The fire of poverty will temper you like steel into a sharpedged weapon. Sometimes the poorest people have the richest spirit.
Does God expect the impoverished to evangelize? A firm yes! The apostles were poor but making many rich (2 Cor 6:10). The lepers hoarded silver and gold and then rushed to share the Goodnews with the poverty-stricken. Find avenues to serve God. It is your bounden duty. That’s the way to become rich toward God (Lk 12:16- 21). Another way to become rich toward God is to give like the poor widow in spite of your poverty (Prov 11:24).
When the blessings of the poor are enumerated even the rich may love to become poor. Jesus was anointed to proclaim the Goodnews to the poor. Why this partiality? Because even if the rich hear the Goodnews they are choked with cares, riches and pleasures of life and become unfruitful (Lk 8:14). Riches make it hard for a person to enter the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 19:23). His mental calculations are mostly worldly (Lk 12:16-19). Their “I-have-need-ofnothing” attitude deprives them of God’s blessings (Rev 3:17).
The following are the riches of poverty. God is strength, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, to whom? To the poor and the needy (Isa 25:4). When the poor and needy die of thirst the God of Israel will never forsake them but open rivers in desolate heights. He will make their wilderness a pool of water (Isa 41:17,18). His ears are tuned to the prayers of the poor. Praise the Lord if you are poor, because not many noble are called; but God has chosen the base things of the world and the things which are despised and the things which are not (1 Cor 1:26-29). Apostle James’ valid argument against believers who were partial to the poor is, “Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonoured the poor man” (Js 2:5,6). Love the Lord and be rich in faith and no matter how poor and despised you die, you will be the proud heirs of God’s kingdom, utterly blessed! If God has given you poverty, accept it. God’s worst is better than the devil’s best.
The rich may wonder if it is a mortal danger to be rich. No, if they are poor in the spirit, if their attitude changes like the poor man’s, if they are rich in giving, then they too inherit all the blessings of the poor. Wealth is not to be attacked as an abomination (Js 1:9). The secret is to keep money as your servant and never let it become your master.
Where was God when Naboth was murdered? He was very much on the throne. Dear poor one, if, when you are despised and abused, you wonder where God is, remember He is still on the throne in full control of the situation, working out His will for your life. Rejoice in that day and leap like a gazelle for joy; for indeed your reward is great in heaven! (Lk 6:23).
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, 8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
Blessed are the Poor!
Where was God when Naboth was killed? One cannot but wonder why after making so many rosy promises to protect and uplift the poor, God simply watched with folded hands when Naboth got kicked in the teeth (1 Ki 21:1-19). Unless we get a balanced view of what the Bible teaches about poverty, the poor will end up feeling guilty for being poor. You may even believe what the prosperity preachers proclaim, feel forsaken of God and lead dead-end lives.
Jesus looked at His poor disciples and said, “Blessed are you poor.” What a contrast to the slogan of the world, “Blessed are the rich!” Jesus’ kingdom concepts were upside down. He said, “Blessed are the poor... who hunger now... who weep now... when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile you...” (Lk 6:20-22). Why are the poor fortunate? Because theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The poor are no match for the rich in this world. This is a rich man’s world. It is no more survival of the fittest but survival of the richest. That’s why many poor feel they are unfortunate. But let us explore the brighter side of being poor.
Being poor does not mean you are out of God’s will; because, Jesus, as also the Old Testament, said the poor would always be there (Mt 26:11; Dt 15:11). Understanding this will ease your mind. If being poor is out of God’s will Jesus would have waved His magic wand over the poor widow who dropped her measly coins to make her a duchess. He let her go as poor as she was, with effusive praise, not to her but to the onlookers. It is God who makes the poor and the rich (Prov 22:2). What did Lazarus gain in this temporary world but poverty, hunger and sores? But in the kingdom of God, he was comforted in Abraham’s bosom. Jesus promised to the poor not the beggarly wealth and honour but the glorious kingdom of God.
May be crisis after crisis has exploded on your face forcing you to scramble for survival. Come out of your depression and guilt. Think of the poor saints (Acts 11:29,30) and the poor apostles (2 Cor 6:10) and beat your bad mood. With that we’ll go to see how we should conduct ourselves in times of poverty.
First and foremost, an attitude of gratefulness and contentment (Js 1:10). Jesus was disappointed that only one of the nine lepers out of ten came to thank Him. “Let the poor and needy praise Your Name” (Psa 74:21). A businessman who lost his entire business in one day came home on the verge of collapse saying, “I have lost everything.” But his wife lifted him up with the words, “You have not lost everything. You have me and the children.” That was the start of his brighter future. Often we fail to praise God for what we have. Praise and thanksgiving will pull you out of depression. Jesus never complained of His poverty. Father God chose an impoverished family for the birth and development of the divine Son. If poverty was good for Him it is good for us too. We owe God a debt of gratitude.
Count your blessings,
Name them one by one;
And it will surprise you
What the Lord has done!
Then the most important thing to do is to maintain a diamondhard integrity at all cost. The world loves talent but rewards character. The poor are especially tempted to lie, steal, murder, commit adultery, cheat, knife friends in the back, etc., for monetary gain. Giving in is giving satan a heyday. “A poor man is better than a liar” (Prov 19:22). “Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his way, though he be rich” (Prov 28:6; 30:8-9). Although life can be unfair it must be lived honourably.
Temptations to compromise your values to achieve your goal may be too strong. A false certificate may get you a job. A lie may bring in a good marriage proposal. Don’t fall for such cheap gimmicks. Trust in God and hold on to your veracity. God raises the poor from the dust. Promotion comes from Him. There are many shortcuts to get rich. But fast riches go away as fast as they come (Prov 28:22). A single rupee fairly got is worth a thousand that are not.
It is indeed an eyesore to see some poor mistreating the poor. Such are “like a driving rain that leaves no food” (Prov 28:3). A servant was realeased from his debt by his master. But he went out and treated a fellow servant despicably (Mt 18:28-30). Let gentleness be your watchword. God is gracious to you; be gracious to the poorer. It is not what you possess in life that gives you worth, but what you pass along to others.
The poor are treated like dirt, kicked around contemptibly and squashed (Prov 14:20). Never let oppression make you feel inferior and submissive. Friendlessness is downright awful. It is just one of the many problems of the poor. But understand that friendlessness is a prison that can be opened only from the inside. Befriend people by your civility. Voluntarily helping others and courteous behaviour can win you good and true friends.
Poor students may be given less marks and beaten for small errors, while the rich kids get a big headstart over everyone else. The rich buy seats in Professional Colleges. Government aids hardly reach the poor. Justice is perverted as in the nefarious murder of Naboth, with no one to speak for him. Human rights are violated.
Even in a spiritual church, you may be asked to sit down on the floor and the chairs reserved for the rich (Js 2:2,3,6). The only gracious way to accept an insult is to ignore it. Develop a thick skin. You may be cast out (Isa 58:7), sold out (Am 2:6). Whatever may be your situation, remember God will do you justice (Psa 140:12). The rich may trust in chariots, horses, wealth and the human support they enjoy. But you trust in the all-powerful Name of the Lord (Psa 20:7). He will step in for you. Borrowing is not a sin. But borrow minimally, because that takes you into bondage (Prov 22:7). When people extend help, accept it graciously without inferiority complex. Seek help in times of crisis from rich believers. God has commanded the rich to help you (Dt 15:7,8). The Judean saints were helped by other believers. But never take advantage of the command- ment.
Poverty is not the end of the road and you should not let circumstances dictate your entire future. Neither are you born with ineptitude. This world offers unlimited latitude for anyone who cares. So don’t let yourself slip into self-pity and stagnation. The Bible has some suggestions for you to be a better pilot of your life. Number one counsel is diligence and hard work. Slothfulness is a guaranteed success-killer, but success will follow the diligent like a shadow. “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich” (Prov 10:4). If you are a student, study assiduously and take up an evening job for an hour or two. A summer job can be a blip on the road to success. If you are a housewife do your best for your home and generate income like the woman of proverbs 31. If you are jobless, hunt for jobs. “Passion and the urge to action are the very stuff of life. Without that passion and urge there is a gradual oozing out of hope and vitality, a setting down of lower levels of existence, a slow merging into non-existence,” writes Jawaharlal Nehru in Discovery of India. Let your motto be, “Work hard, play fair and trust God.” Brooding with your chin in the cup of your palms is not going to get you anywhere.
Every roadblock has a way around it. So never stop trying. When one of our former Prime Ministers, Mr. Morarji Desai, attended an interview in his youthhood, he was asked, “Well, young man, how would you feel if you do not get this job?” He quipped, “Who knows?
I may get something better.” Such optimism should shove you. Take hold of life. “Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor” (Prov 13:23; 28:19). But you must break the fallow ground, till the soil and labour to extract the food out. Opportunities are everywhere if only you look. That’s what the Preacher means when he says, “Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes (to see the opportunities) and you will be satisfied with bread” (Prov 20:13; 24:33,34 — parenthesis mine). Be an early riser and you will see more than others. God cannot help you, if you cannot help yourself.
Riches may elude you but wisdom need not; for God gives wisdom to any seeker liberally. Wisdom scores higher than riches even in this world. Instead of running after riches, seek after wisdom. Make it a regular habit to plead God for wisdom. As you grow wise you will earn respect, friends and position. “Better is a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who will be admonished no more. For he comes out of prison to be king although he was born poor in his kingdom” (Eccl 4:13,14; 9:15). Yes, one good head is better than a hundred strong hands. David was a poor shepherd boy (1 Sam 18:23). But, not by quirk, but by the grace of God and God-given wisdom he polevaulted to superstardom and assured for himself a permanent place in history.
The worst thing in your life, poverty, may contain seeds of the best. Because of your simple food and hard life you may be spared conditions like diabates, high blood pressure, certain heart diseases, obesity and arthritis that plague the rich. Jesus was a carpenter and that made him brawny, muscular and strong to walk kilometres and kilometres and climb mountains. You learn politeness because you need people (Prov 18:23). My first shock after marriage came when my father-in-law invited a street vendor inside the house, made him sit and offered him water to drink before he made his purchase. My husband is his facsimile. I still have difficulty relating to people because of my affluent background. My husband says it is arrogance. I know it is but I am struggling to get it out of my blood. I wish there is an artificial kidney to remove such vices from the blood. But for the poor, in general, politeness is their birthright.
You are naturally careful. My husband got beaten up for losing a fountain pen in school by his mother. Now he keeps his pen for ages. But I need a pen a week. Jesus had learnt to save leftovers (Jn 6:12). Such qualities cannot be learned from books. They have to be ingrained in a person by the way he is brought up over the years. The fire of poverty will temper you like steel into a sharpedged weapon. Sometimes the poorest people have the richest spirit.
Does God expect the impoverished to evangelize? A firm yes! The apostles were poor but making many rich (2 Cor 6:10). The lepers hoarded silver and gold and then rushed to share the Goodnews with the poverty-stricken. Find avenues to serve God. It is your bounden duty. That’s the way to become rich toward God (Lk 12:16- 21). Another way to become rich toward God is to give like the poor widow in spite of your poverty (Prov 11:24).
When the blessings of the poor are enumerated even the rich may love to become poor. Jesus was anointed to proclaim the Goodnews to the poor. Why this partiality? Because even if the rich hear the Goodnews they are choked with cares, riches and pleasures of life and become unfruitful (Lk 8:14). Riches make it hard for a person to enter the Kingdom of heaven (Mt 19:23). His mental calculations are mostly worldly (Lk 12:16-19). Their “I-have-need-ofnothing” attitude deprives them of God’s blessings (Rev 3:17).
The following are the riches of poverty. God is strength, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat, to whom? To the poor and the needy (Isa 25:4). When the poor and needy die of thirst the God of Israel will never forsake them but open rivers in desolate heights. He will make their wilderness a pool of water (Isa 41:17,18). His ears are tuned to the prayers of the poor. Praise the Lord if you are poor, because not many noble are called; but God has chosen the base things of the world and the things which are despised and the things which are not (1 Cor 1:26-29). Apostle James’ valid argument against believers who were partial to the poor is, “Listen, my beloved brothers. Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonoured the poor man” (Js 2:5,6). Love the Lord and be rich in faith and no matter how poor and despised you die, you will be the proud heirs of God’s kingdom, utterly blessed! If God has given you poverty, accept it. God’s worst is better than the devil’s best.
The rich may wonder if it is a mortal danger to be rich. No, if they are poor in the spirit, if their attitude changes like the poor man’s, if they are rich in giving, then they too inherit all the blessings of the poor. Wealth is not to be attacked as an abomination (Js 1:9). The secret is to keep money as your servant and never let it become your master.
Where was God when Naboth was murdered? He was very much on the throne. Dear poor one, if, when you are despised and abused, you wonder where God is, remember He is still on the throne in full control of the situation, working out His will for your life. Rejoice in that day and leap like a gazelle for joy; for indeed your reward is great in heaven! (Lk 6:23).
Dr. Lilian Stanley
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91 9843511943
lilianstanley@gmail.com
Blessing Youth Mission
13 Church Colony
Vellore 632006, India
+91-416-2242943, +91-416-2248943
hq@bymonline.org
www.bymonline.org
Click here for more options
To buy books written by Dr. Lilian Stanley, kindly reach to us in the follwing address
Blessing Literature Centre
21/11 West Coovam River Road,
Chintadripet,
Chennai 600 002, India.
+91-44-28450411, Mob:8806270699
blc@bymonline.org
