Are poor getting what they deserve?

The same as everyone else.

according to Scripture they "deserve" our charity.

but beggars can't be choosers.

That depends on the interpretation of “getting” in your OP.

I do not like the word “deserve.” The only thing any of us actually deserves is eternity in hell.

OldWiseGuy said:

What do the poor deserve?

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The poor should treat others the same as they would wish to be treated himself.
And many do exactly that. They give very generously until they are poor again and their wallets are empty and the apartment is bare.

OldWiseGuy said:

What do the poor deserve?

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Is this some sort of social justice question?

The poor doesn't deserve anything, but it is a good thing to help them.

"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." - Proverbs 19:17

"Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him." - Proverbs 14:31

Sometimes the poor are poor because nobody wants to deal with them. Such is the case with many mentally disabled persons. Some are drug addicts.

Back in the Lord's day things were probably similar and different.

Dave-W said:

I do not like the word “deserve.” The only thing any of us actually deserves is eternity in hell.

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I agree because even God gave us what we don't deserve (grace).
I don't see how we deserve anything at this point tbh

THE W said:

according to Scripture they "deserve" our charity.

but beggars can't be choosers.

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We also deserve each others' charity. It's a fruit of the Spirit.

spiritualchristian7 said:

I agree because even God gave us what we don't deserve (grace).
I don't see how we deserve anything at this point tbh

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No one deserves eternal torment. And no one will be receiving it.

Dave-W said:

I do not like the word “deserve.” The only thing any of us actually deserves is eternity in hell.

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I remind myself of that quite often.

As far as the poor.
Some get educated and break out.
Some lazy ones choose to stay that way.

The ones that have no choice due to mental illness or physical disabilities we need to help.

M-Bob

OldWiseGuy said:

What do the poor deserve?

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As long as they do not envy the rich, three cheers,

"Better the little of the righteous, than the abundant wealth of the wicked"

OldWiseGuy said:

What do the poor deserve?

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Lk.16:19(NKJ) “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for Iam tormented in this flame.’ 25But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

27“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’29Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’

in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.



Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2Cor.5:17).

Luke 6:27-36
bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,read more.
"Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. "Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. "If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. "If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Bro. Dave Gardner said:

No one deserves eternal torment. And no one will be receiving it.

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We do, unless you think we deserve God's grace.

Deserve is open to easy equivocation and generalization.

Equivocation, because moral requirement is often conflated with and used to justify moral or legal entitlement. Our Lord was no capitalist, but he also didn't convey a positive assessment of those who presume entitlement to his mercy. If it is for God to bestow mercy only on the publican who humbles himself before his would-be donor, and not on the proud Pharisee who boasts of his accomplishments, then why ought we presume a different standard for men?

Generalization, because the parable of the unforgiving debtor teaches us that not all who seek mercy are morally deserving of it. The question is not whether the poor, generally, deserve anything; but whether a poor person with a particular history and attitude, deserves something.

That said, the deserving poor "deserve" our mercy.

Signed,
Someone with bipolar disorder whose symptoms often make life burdensome for others through no will of his own

Bro. Dave Gardner said:

No one deserves eternal torment. And no one will be receiving it.

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Our Church must be using
a different Bible version?
Way different.
M-Bob

Mountainmanbob said:

As far as the poor.
Some get educated and break out.
Some lazy ones choose to stay that way.

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And some, perhaps, having understood relevant portions of the Sermon on the Mount, are indifferent to the condition, see nothing negative about lacking worldly goods and are grateful they have not yielded to the temptation of pursuing wealth.

What do you mean?

I'm poor and I don't feel like I deserve anything, but I am truly grateful for everything I do get. I try to work hard every day even though physical disability makes it quite difficult, but I still have the internal mental drive to make something of myself. Whether or not it will actually work out is ultimately up to God, not me, but I try to at least show that I am willing to do whatever I am actually able to do. It is difficult when so much of life depends on others' perception of you and there's something about you that you cannot control and had no part in causing (I was born physically disabled due to a traumatic and dangerous very premature birth) that immediately puts you in a negative light in society's eyes in general. What is a person to do? Everyone has challenges, of course, so you take up your cross and don't whine. God's incarnate Word suffered much more than I ever will, and for my sake as for everyone's sake, so that is definitely humbling. In that sense, we all (rich and poor) have infinitely more than we could ever deserve, as I think we would all agree that salvation is not 'earnable', as we are to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, not with confidence in all our good deeds as though they -- not Christ -- 'pay' our way.

But I'm curious as to what I would 'deserve', both positively and negatively, that I am not already receiving. What is meant by this? Do I deserve to be poor and in extreme, never-ending pain all my life due to the circumstances of my birth? That is indeed how it is in a lot of the world, so that's another thing I have to be grateful for (I mean, I am typing on a computer right now from inside my own apartment, rather than begging on the street; that is awesome, and I do thank God for it every single day), but the OP is oddly open-ended.