God's preferential option for the poor

Hmm · Jun 16, 2021

I was reading some Philip Yancey over the cornflakes, as you do, and he quoted this phrase coined by a Catholic scholar: "God's preferential option for the poor". He wondered Why would God single out the poor for special attention over any other group, looked into it more and found this list compiled by a writer named Monika Hellwig helpful. Unfortunate surname perhaps but it lists the "advantages" of being poor and I found it very helpful too so thought I'd post it here to see what people think:

"1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.

2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.

3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.

5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.

6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.

7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.

8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.

9. When the poor have the Gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not a threat or scolding

10. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated reality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything."

Yancy summarised it by saying that poor people, certainty through no wish of their own because they may desperately want it otherwise, find themselves in a "posture that befits the grace of God. In their state of neediness, dependence, and dissatisfaction with life, they may welcome God's free gift of love."

OldWiseGuy · Jun 16, 2021

God called me when I was doing quite well financially. However I soon became poor due to losing my job for needing to keep the Sabbath, tithing, offerings, travel to services, etc.

However I think it is God's desire that we "prosper and be in health". 3 John 1:2

Eftsoon · Jun 16, 2021

5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
is God in his holy dwelling.
6 God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing;

Psalm 68:5-6

Norbert L · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
..it lists the "advantages" of being poor and I found it very helpful too so thought I'd post it here to see what people think: ..

Granted that the poor is a large field of wheat ripe for harvest, however.. The problem I see is you can't lump all the poor together like that. As individuals they too can fully reject anything and everything about God.

dqhall · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
I was reading some Philip Yancey over the cornflakes, as you do, and he quoted this phrase coined by a Catholic scholar: "God's preferential option for the poor". He wondered Why would God single out the poor for special attention over any other group, looked into it more and found this list compiled by a writer named Monika Hellwig helpful. Unfortunate surname perhaps but it lists the "advantages" of being poor and I found it very helpful too so thought I'd post it here to see what people think:

"1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.

2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.

3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.

5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.

6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.

7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.

8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.

9. When the poor have the Gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not a threat or scolding

10. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated reality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything."

Yancy summarised it by saying that poor people, certainty through no wish of their own because they may desperately want it otherwise, find themselves in a "posture that befits the grace of God. In their state of neediness, dependence, and dissatisfaction with life, they may welcome God's free gift of love."

When I was homeless, I had less money to waste. God helped me survive. One month I picked blueberries for piecework wages. The farmer let me stay in a hunter’s shack on his property. I bought bread with my wages. I did not steal his blueberries. The birds were stealing his berries. People used to stop and give rides to strangers. Things changed. People are afraid to help strangers with free rides. Too many guns on the streets.

I sometimes remember some of the things I bought that I do not use and am sad. I was watching TV and part of my golf cart rusted for lack of paint. They should have installed an aluminum back seat kit that does not rust. The salesman talked me into buying a refurbished four seat model. It seemed cheap. Five years later it is falling apart. I do not even golf but used it to travel around my 55+ community. I have two bedrooms in my manufactured home, one I use as an office. They will not let me rent it out due to the community rules.

If I give to the poor, I should not get overconfident because much has been wasted. The director of a charity pays himself about $350,000. a year. Not all of the charity money is given to the poor. He wants me to give to his charity when he can not even endure getting less than $350,000 a year? Preachers who are obese and can not heal were asking for more. A Japanese doctor lived to be 105. He used to walk the stairs instead of take the hospital elevator. He ate meat twice a week and a little bit of fish. I prayed for more even when I have enough, yet I fear poverty. I blinked and the price of a new home went to $350,000. A new home cost $30,000 in 1970. Money in the bank is losing value.

Hmm · Jun 16, 2021

Norbert L said:
Granted that the poor is a large field of wheat ripe for harvest, however.. The problem I see is you can't lump all the poor together like that. As individuals they too can fully reject anything and everything about God.

It's true that the poor aren't a monolithic block - they are of course individuals and so can reject God like anyone else but I think it's true to say, in general, that poor people are less likely to play at being Christian than the "middle class". They're less likely to pretend that they're living the perfect Christian life because they're less arrogant. That's my experience from church anyway. And also, if you're poor, you're more likely to feel dependent on others and so will naturally be more receptive to the idea of being dependent on God. And the Beatitudes of course do single out the poor.

OldWiseGuy · Jun 16, 2021

Norbert L said:
Granted that the poor is a large field of wheat ripe for harvest, however.. The problem I see is you can't lump all the poor together like that. As individuals they too can fully reject anything and everything about God.

Many are poor because they reject some important Godly principles.

Hmm · Jun 16, 2021

OldWiseGuy said:
Many are poor because they reject some important Godly principles.

A subtle point but true too, for some.

fhansen · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
I was reading some Philip Yancey over the cornflakes, as you do, and he quoted this phrase coined by a Catholic scholar: "God's preferential option for the poor". He wondered Why would God single out the poor for special attention over any other group, looked into it more and found this list compiled by a writer named Monika Hellwig helpful. Unfortunate surname perhaps but it lists the "advantages" of being poor and I found it very helpful too so thought I'd post it here to see what people think:

"1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.

2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.

3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.

5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.

6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.

7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.

8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.

9. When the poor have the Gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not a threat or scolding

10. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated reality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything."

Yancy summarised it by saying that poor people, certainty through no wish of their own because they may desperately want it otherwise, find themselves in a "posture that befits the grace of God. In their state of neediness, dependence, and dissatisfaction with life, they may welcome God's free gift of love."

It’s not that He loves them more. It’s that the poor don’t have a status that keeps them thinking they’re secure on their own, due to the “deceitfulness of wealth”. We don’t turn to God easily, giving up the pride that separates us from Him, in any real way, when we don’t recognize our need. But nothing is impossible for God; He has ways of getting through to and breaking even the hardest of hearts.

Hmm · Jun 16, 2021

fhansen said:
It’s not that He loves them more. It’s that the poor don’t have a status that keeps them thinking they’re secure on their own, due to the “deceitfulness of wealth”. We don’t turn to God easily, giving up the pride that separates us from Him, in any real way, when we don’t recognize our need. But nothing is impossible for God; He has ways of getting through to and breaking even the hardest of hearts.

Good to point out that it's not that God loves the poor more than the rich. It's more that they're favoured, as you say and however much they wouldn't choose to be, by being more receptive to God because of the lessons life has taught them about inter-dependence on others, being patient etc. God loves us all equally, rich or poor, healthy or sick, Democrat or Republican! And He certainly can break through to the rich and powerful - Paul for example. Like the Sun, He shines on everyone alike - the difference is in our response but perhaps, generally speaking, life has better equipped the poor to be able to respond in the right way than the rich.

fhansen · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
Good to point out that it's not that God loves the poor more than the rich. It's more that they're favoured, as you say and however much they wouldn't choose to be, by being more receptive to God because of the lessons life has taught them about inter-dependence on others, being patient etc. God loves us all equally, rich or poor, healthy or sick, Democrat or Republican! And He certainly can break through to the rich and powerful - Paul for example. Like the Sun, He shines on everyone alike - the difference is in our response but perhaps, generally speaking, life has better equipped the poor to be able to respond in the right way than the rich.

Yes, not that God loves them more, but that it's easier, in a sense, for them to love Him more. But that obviously doesn't always hold true in every case either.

dqhall · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
It's true that the poor aren't a monolithic block - they are of course individuals and so can reject God like anyone else but I think it's true to say, in general, that poor people are less likely to play at being Christian than the "middle class". They're less likely to pretend that they're living the perfect Christian life because they're less arrogant. That's my experience from church anyway. And also, if you're poor, you're more likely to feel dependent on others and so will naturally be more receptive to the idea of being dependent on God. And the Beatitudes of course do single out the poor.

The rich are more likely to depend on the working poor. I have read about companies not being able to fill positions. There was a sign at Dairy Queen advertising help wanted, $10.00 an hour. A sign at Burger King and another at a gas station. Carpenters worked hard to build more houses. Others reaped the profits of their labors. I walked into a gas station store to use the restroom. I bought a bottle of water on the way out. A man ahead of me asked for two monopoly scratch off lottery tickets. Outside there was a man sitting at a table with a small pile of scratch off tickets. That is not a good retirement plan.

Jesus and his disciples did not have a hotel room in Jerusalem. They camped out across the Kidron Valley in the Garden of Gethsemene the night of his arrest. Paul was a tent maker. According to Jewish records from those days some rabbis had occupations or businesses. The chief priests demanded tithes. The sent their agents to the threshing floors during the grain harvest to get their ten percent. In America there is separation of church and state. The government is not allowed to collect tithes for the churches.

bling · Jun 16, 2021

In the Rich man and Lazarus story God’s Love for the rich man was so great God at the expense of Lazarus provided the rich man with a daily best opportunity to experience Godly type Love with Lazarus. It would have been wonderful for both the Rich man and Lazarus if the rich man had ceased the opportunity and help Lazarus. I, unfortunately, also need Lazarus(s) at my door step experience Godly type Love.

The poor should find it easier to humbly accept pure undeserved charity, then the rich, but the rich can afford any morality they want. The poor can get so caught up in just providing essentials for survival they step over God’s moral line.

Unfortunately both rich and poor are needed.

Maria Billingsley · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
I was reading some Philip Yancey over the cornflakes, as you do, and he quoted this phrase coined by a Catholic scholar: "God's preferential option for the poor". He wondered Why would God single out the poor for special attention over any other group, looked into it more and found this list compiled by a writer named Monika Hellwig helpful. Unfortunate surname perhaps but it lists the "advantages" of being poor and I found it very helpful too so thought I'd post it here to see what people think:

"1. The poor know they are in urgent need of redemption.

2. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.

3. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance, and no exaggerated need of privacy.

5. The poor expect little from competition and much from cooperation.

6. The poor can distinguish between necessities and luxuries.

7. The poor can wait, because they have acquired a kind of dogged patience born of acknowledged dependence.

8. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and want.

9. When the poor have the Gospel preached to them, it sounds like good news and not a threat or scolding

10. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a certain abandonment and uncomplicated reality because they have so little to lose and are ready for anything."

Yancy summarised it by saying that poor people, certainty through no wish of their own because they may desperately want it otherwise, find themselves in a "posture that befits the grace of God. In their state of neediness, dependence, and dissatisfaction with life, they may welcome God's free gift of love."

The poor "test" the rich. Jesus Christ of Nazareth made it clear in His parable of Lazarus and the rich man. I was hoping this was on the list. Blessings.

Hmm · Jun 16, 2021

Maria Billingsley said:
I was hoping this was on the list.

The lIst was of virtues that you may learn and acquire from poverty. Is feeling that Gos is using you as a lesson for the rich a spiritual quality?

Maria Billingsley · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
The lIst was of virtues that you may learn and acquire from poverty. Is feeling that Gos is using you as a lesson for the rich a spiritual quality?

"Why would God single out the poor for special attention"? This is the question.
We can find answers in His parables. I will leave it with Him and His intention for delivering this message to us.

Hmm · Jun 16, 2021

Maria Billingsley said:
"Why would God single out the poor for special attention"? This is the question.
We can find answers in His parables. I will leave it with Him and His intention for delivering this message to us.

It's a reference to the Beatitudes where Jesus comforts the poor, the grieving, the weak and the persecuted. Why he singles these people out is the topic of this thread but the fact is, He does.

Norbert L · Jun 16, 2021

Hmm said:
It's true that the poor aren't a monolithic block - they are of course individuals and so can reject God like anyone else but I think it's true to say, in general, that poor people are less likely to play at being Christian than the "middle class". They're less likely to pretend that they're living the perfect Christian life because they're less arrogant. That's my experience from church anyway. And also, if you're poor, you're more likely to feel dependent on others and so will naturally be more receptive to the idea of being dependent on God. And the Beatitudes of course do single out the poor.

Matthew 5:3 and Luke 6:20 make for an interesting comparison.

It seems likely that there can be two differing views between them because if Luke is used as a precedent then Matthew would mean only those who are monetarily poor and also who are poor in spirit are the ones Jesus is talking about. Whereas if Matthew is viewed as being more accurate to the original words Jesus spoke, then income wouldn't necessarily be the deciding factor. You could have middle class people who are poor in spirit too.

OldWiseGuy · Jun 16, 2021

I and my family were poor for many years. Then God blessed me with a modicum of wealth in my senior years. Most poor do not remain so, but move up the financial ladder at some point. "The poor are always with you", however the names and faces change.

dqhall · Jun 16, 2021

OldWiseGuy said:
I and my family were poor for many years. Then God blessed me with a modicum of wealth in my senior years. Most poor do not remain so, but move up the financial ladder at some point. "The poor are always with you", however the names and faces change.

There is some upward mobility in the U.S. Not as easy for indentured laborers in the brick yards of India, or Christian preachers being held in Chinese prisons to climb the ladder of prosperity.

I remember Judas got greedy and stole from Jesus’ community funds. He got greedier and collected bounty money for giving information leading to Jesus’ arrest. Judas was paid 30 pieces of silver. A poor man in his righteousness is better than a wicked man with riches.

Some women who followed Jesus were able to contribute money to him. With God all things are possible.

God's preferential option for the poor

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