The Poor Will Always Be With You?

“You will always have the poor among you” – yes Jesus said that.

This is a passage that always baffled me. It’s actually hard to rebuttal this statement if you don’t have some reference to how, when and why Jesus said this.

Take a trip to John 12: 1-9 with me. 

This chapter takes place between Jesus raising his buddy Lazarus from the dead and his triumphant entry into Jerusalem.  Basically from John 12 on it’s all downhill (uphill? – for Christians) in terms of Jesus being arrested and betrayed.

Here is the story:

John 12

 ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³ Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard (sounds nasty), an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 

 ⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.^[b]” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

   ⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you,^[c] but you will not always have me.”

One response we ALWAYS get in churches is, “Why should we go on short term missions – shouldn’t we just send the money?” Beyond the other reasons I’ve talked about in other blog posts, I wonder how many people make this remark because they are a keeper of their own moneybag just like Judas was.  It’s easy to say, “I’m not going to go, and give instead” only to “help yourself” to good intention funds.

Verse 6 says, “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”

I also wonder in my own life where I justify my own righteousness and skim off the top of what God intended for me to give to the poor.  I won’t lie, it’s easier to make excuses to not give when you raise support for living and are trying to help the church do missions. I need to constantly check my motives in giving and also to what God’s calling me to give to.

Now we hear some contemporary western people say – “Well Jesus is telling us there will always be poor – and we will never cure the disease of world poverty so we shouldn’t give everything away for the sake of the poor.”  It sure is a relief knowing that Jesus wasn’t really serious when telling the ‘rich young ruler’ to sell everything – right?

Let’s dig a little deeper.

In the most elementary of bible schooling Jesus would have attended, He had to memorize the first 4 books of the bible – including Deuteronomy. When Jesus says, “the poor will always be among you” he is quoting Deut. Chapter 15:11.

Deuteronomy 15 talks about the sabbatical year/year of Jubilee when all the debts were to be forgiven and so people could start from scratch.  That’d be great for my mortgage.

However look at a few verses before he makes ‘the statement’.. 

Deut 15: ⁴ However, there will be no poor among you, since the LORD will surely bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, 

Crazy that there was going to be a time where there was NO poor among us. However, the qualifications are…

⁵ if only you listen obediently to the voice of the LORD your God, to observe carefully all this commandment which I am commanding you today. 

 

^{Unfortunately,} we didn’t/don’t listen obediently and observe all commandments so there is need. Moses goes on to write what we are suppose to do with that need:

Deut 15:7-11 - If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbour.  You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be… Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so… For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore, I command you saying, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.

So to the poor you should, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.”

 As Mary believed Jesus to be the Savior – she was washing his feet as an act of worship to God.  She is giving generously to God.

Giving to God, and giving to the poor are not mutually exclusive acts.

This is evident all throughout Scripture, but one of the most cited passages on the interconnection of worship and generosity to the poor is one of HFL’s core scripture - Isaiah 58.6-12.  Through the prophet the LORD proclaims:

⁶ “No, this is the kind of fasting I want:
   Free those who are wrongly imprisoned;
      lighten the burden of those who work for you.
   Let the oppressed go free,
      and remove the chains that bind people.
 ⁷ Share your food with the hungry,
      and give shelter to the homeless.
   Give clothes to those who need them,
      and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

 ⁸ “Then your salvation will come like the dawn,
      and your wounds will quickly heal.
   Your godliness will lead you forward,
      and the glory of the Lord will protect you from behind.
 ⁹ Then when you call, the Lord will answer.
      ‘Yes, I am here,’ he will quickly reply.

 

People who will argue “there will always be poor among us” should understand that our response according to scripture should be an open hand of giving rather than a tight fist and hard heart.

We live in a world in which ten children die every minute from malnutrition,  where 101 million children aren’t attending primary school, and where 4 out of 10 human beings have no access to basic sanitation. These are all avoidable statistics – so why aren’t they avoided?

I better get back to work…