Hey all,
going through proverbs and noticed how often solomon mentioned the poor. Even a casual glance over proverbs will reveal that solomon felt it was better to be poor and in God than to be rich and without him. Keep in mind that solomon was king over israel at the nation's political and economical peak, the man had gold to waste, if any man knew whether the grass was greener on teh other side, it'd be solomon (Rick Holland). At the same time, solomon is real enough with us to point out the fact that poor ppl often face rejection "a poor man is shunned by all his relatives - how much more do his friends avoid him!" Prov 19:7 This confused me for a bit, solomon seems to be saying its good to be poor and in God, yet is giving us this warning that being poor sux...to which I now ask...well then whats so good about poverty? I think solomon begins to explain this in proverbs but for the complete answer we'd need to look (as usual) to Christ
It's no secret that Jesus rooted for the underdogs, he hung out with dredges of society and his views are evident in his teachings (lazarus/rich man, easier to get camel through eye of a needle than rich man into heaven, etc). It seems like Jesus is in agreement with solomon here. In the very first sentence of his very first sermon, Jesus said "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Mat 5:3). Does this mean the poor get instant access into heaven? No, but I do think that Peter (our peter) had a great point when he said that the rich (that is us) are at a disadvantage. In poverty a person is forced to come to God, when all your friends and relatives desert you God becomes your only companion, there is a deeper understanding of the humility that defines the specific kind of poverty Jesus is referring to - that is, the poverty of the spirit. It is the realization that we can't do this by ourselves but need to rely on God. ALL of the other beatitudes relies on first reaching this poverty of the spirit (Steve Lawson). There is no mourning for those who celebrate in their pride, no hunger for those who consider themselves full of their own wisdom, no mercy for those who consider themselves righteous enough to judge their brothers and sisters, and no purity for those who aren't in Christ.
My encouragement this week, take a good look at our lives - all the pleasures and material assets we have and stack it up again our salvation and the salvation of others. Which is worth more? Do we say God, or do we walk away sad like the young man in Matthew 19? I find the words of Christ so comforting when the disciples asked how anyone can be saved if the requirement is this UNNATURAL poverty that God demands of us, and our Lord's answer was simply this: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Have a happy wednesday!
Edward
"Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." Proverbs 11:4
"Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse." Proverbs 28:6
"I tell you the truth...everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." Matthew 19:28-29
aww..baby penguin jus wanna spend time w/ his dad =D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSbLpQEZP1Y
P.S. Sending out final paperworks and money to FIMRC today, will be officially commited to the Uganda trip as of lunch time =)
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