Day 4: Be Generous to the Poor

All through the library of Scripture, we read again and again of what Pope Francis called “the preferential option for the poor.” There are roughly 500 verses in the Bible on faith and another 500 on prayer, but over 2,000 on God’s heart for the poor. And we see this heart on display in Jesus’ teachings.

Let’s look at one example in Luke 12.

16-21: “And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

This man is a wealthy landowner, but instead of sharing his excess with the poor all around him, he builds bigger barns. And Jesus calls him a “fool.”

The irony is, this guy is living the American dream! Literally!

Then look down at verse 32. Jesus says this: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

We’re back to Jesus’ abundance mindset: God is our Father-provider; his heart is to give to us, not take. We don’t have to be afraid.

Instead, we can do this:

33: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”

Do you see how Jesus ties his call to be generous to the poor to his view of the age to come?

Jesus’ teachings on generosity will never make sense unless you view your financial decisions not in light of a human lifespan, but of eternity.

In light of eternity, giving is not loss, it’s gain! It’s an investment.

34: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Our heart follows our money. And when we spend our money on things that do not last, our hearts are racked by fear and greed.

But Jesus has a solution: Give your money away to the poor.

It comes as no surprise that Jesus’ first apprentices did exactly that.

In Acts 2, the first story we have of the early church, we read this famous passage: “All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.”

They did it! The early Church was wildly generous to the poor!

One of the central practices of early Christians was “almsgiving,” which was basically generosity to the poor, but they would often give not only money, but time and relationship as well. But because so much of this work has since been taken on by our governments, it’s easy for us to forget that this is a core part of our calling as followers of Jesus.

Now, this raises all sorts of questions about how to practice almsgiving today.

The poor are often invisible to those of us who are middle-class and up. And it’s hard to know what to do with the scale of the modern nation-state, the cost of living in our cities, and how it’s all tied to taxation.

But don’t let paralysis stop your heart!

You can make a small donation to your church or a nonprofit that is serving the poor. Or you can volunteer.

Or, even better: You can just see who in your circle is in need.

Did you see in the text that a synonym for the “poor” is “anyone who had need”?

Often, we think of the poor as those in abject poverty in another country or those living on the streets, but who do you know who has a “need”?

And what do you have to give? Even if it’s small. Even if it’s twenty bucks or an extra plate for dinner.

No matter how small, a sacred law of the Kingdom is that God can do a lot with a little. Our five bread loaves go far beyond what we could ever dream.

And remember, those in need are not the objects of your pity, but your brothers and sisters, your kin in Jesus.

Our goal isn’t just to give our resources to those in need, but to create a new kind of family. To blur the lines between giver and receiver.

You may have extra resources to give them, but they have far more to give you.

Our goal is to create a community where it could be said, “There was no needy person among them.”

Follow the leading of the Spirit in your heart.

Don’t build bigger barns! Be generous to the poor.