“I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
As a follower of Jesus Christ and as someone who believes that Jesus Christ is God, I don’t have an option or even a decision to make about how I treat anyone who is less fortunate than me. What I do for those less fortunate than myself, and what I fail to do for those less fortunate than myself, I do or fail to do to God himself. My obligation to the poor and my behavioral standard, as prescribed by Jesus Christ himself, is to treat others the way I would want to be treated.
I’m sure God wants all of us to do the right things for the right reasons. One of my daily prayers is to ask God to give me a heart after his heart. I want to care about what he cares about. However, I am just as certain that God has a higher standard for our actions than he does for our hearts. In the passages I quoted, Jesus emphasizes what we do to others, not how we feel about ourselves or how we feel about others. He is prescribing the right behavior, not the right feelings.
Most believers are in agreement with me about the poor. Practically every Christian Church is involved in charity. We all believe in helping the poor. However, the ONE Campaign and the supporters of this campaign have really opened my eyes to the damage that is being done to the poor by Christians in the name of Christ. A large number of Christians, including prominent Christian leaders, have elevated their feelings about helping the poor way above the correct actions to really help the poor.
In my next few posts, I will elaborate on the causes and solutions to poverty and address what I consider to be misconceptions about poverty.
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2 comments:
David,
I really enjoyed this series! I didn't comment during it because all I really had to say was, "Yeah, what he said."
I continue to grow in my belief that social liberals don't actually think through their ideas, but just feel them instead. Analyzing your poverty series supports that.
Thanks Hammer,
I’m not used to getting an agreement from you on my first attempt at most topics. ; -)
You’re probably not used to agreeing with me either. : - 0
It seems to me that there are more people like myself who went from liberal to conservative so I have to hope that there are others who are still figuring it out and moving in the right direction.
Thanks for leaving the comment. I still check your site almost every day.
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