The poor and The Christian

 The Poor and the Christian

In the book of James we read,

"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  

Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.  

If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?  

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.  

You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?...  

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead"James 2:14-20, 26.

The Jews have a concept known as “Tzedakah”. It is something I believe Christians need to at least consider. 

I got the following definition of Tzedakah from a Jewish website it states, 

"Tzedakah is the Hebrew word for acts that we call charity in English: giving assistance and money to the poor and needy or to other worthy causes. However the nature of tzedakah is very different from the idea of charity. The word "charity suggests benevolence and generosity, a magnanimous act by the wealthy and the powerful for the benefit of he poor and needy.

The word "tzedakah" is derived form the Hebrew root Tzadei-dalet-Qof, meaning righteousness, justice or fairness. In Judaism giving to the poor is not viewed as a generous, magnanimous act, it is simply and act of righteousness, performance of a duty giving the poor their due."

According to Jewish scholars there are various levels of Tzedakah,

Giving begrudgingly

Giving less than you should, but giving cheerfully,

Giving after being asked

Giving before being asked

Giving when you do not know the recipient's identity, but the recipient knows yours

Giving when you know and the recipient's identity, but the recipient doesn't know yours.

Giving when neither party knows the other's identity.

Enabling the recipient to become self-reliant. 

Another Jewish website, My Jewish learning 101 states,

Biblical prophets castigated the Israelites for neglecting and even exploiting the poor, insisting that God has particular concern for those in need. The rabbis of classical Judaism praised tzedakah, calling it, for example, "equal in value to all the other mitzvot [commandments] combined." They also praised those who practice it, saying that they attain the level of holiness of someone who brought sacrifices in the ancient Temple. The Rosh Hashanah liturgy lists tzedakah alongside repentance and prayer as a human act capable of averting a negative divine decree.

Jesus said,

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  

I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  

When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  

When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 

"The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 

"Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,    I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 

"They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 

"He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 

"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Matthew 25:34-36.

Please think about it.

Woe

Woe
“And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me.  But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:5,6
Here is a warning from Jesus we need to be careful how we treat people and what we teach.
A friend of my daughter in law has a child about eight. She is visibly disabled.
The child grew up in church and heard much about a specific preacher. She wanted her mother to take her to this man to be healed.
They got there and were told to sit a the back. During the alter call, a call for those in need of a healing touch, the child asked her mother to take her forward.
To the horror of the mother they were intercepted on their way down to the front and asked to go to their seat.
It totally devastated the child, and the two went away disillusioned.
The mother also noticed at the time that there were no people at the front with visible or extreme disabilities.
Here is an example of how someone can cause someone’s faith to be questioned. To cause someone to sin.
Fortunately as I understand it the little girls faith rebounded because it was in Jesus not in the preacher.
Not all such encounters have such a happy ending.
The warning Jesus give in this passage is not only a warning about making children sin, but about making all people sin. Turning people from the saving grace of Christ.
Back in the nineties a high profile televangelist said God was going to kill all the homosexuals in North America within a few years. What garbage! And how wrong he was.
The LGBT community has more rights today that ever before in North America.
     Not only that each individual in the LGBT community is as important to God as anyone else in this world. God cares about everyone.
Rather than make such outlandish predictions that evangelist should have been sitting down with members of the LGBT community an presenting the Love of God to them.
Were that man to make such a prediction in old Testament times and found to be wrong he’d have been stoned to death.
Now I am not a gay man, but I cringe when I hear the gay community coming under attack by preachers and individuals who claim to be Christians as if they have some ‘special sin’.
Those who call themselves Christians and are attacking the LGBT community or any community be it Islam, Hindu’s Buddhist or any other group are guilty of making them stumble.
They are guilty of disobeying Jesus who said,
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 
For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” Matthew 7:1,2
The people who are being attacked see the attack especially if it’s on their faith or lifestyle as a personal attack. Thus it gets their guard up and shuts down all dialogue.
The apostle Paul make it clear what we in the church must do when he writes,
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  
God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked man from among you.” 1Corinthians 5:12,13.
Tony Campolo and American evangelist wrote,
“Let us preach Christ, let us be faithful to proclaiming the Gospel, but let's leave judgment in the hands of God.”  Tony Campolo
Billy Graham the great American evangelist said,

“It is the Holy Spirits Job to Convict, 

God’s job to judge 

and my job to love,”

                      Billy Graham

Jesus gave the Church it’s prime directive when he said,
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”  Matthew 28:18-20.
Jesus did not tell his followers to judge anyone. Quite the contrary when asked,
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” 
Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  
This is the first and greatest commandment.  
And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40
Prior to the Matthew’s gospel quotes Jesus as saying,
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  
But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,...” Matthew 5:43,44
This is what Christians are called to do. For Christians not to do it has the potential for eternal consequences.
Please think about it.