Every obstacle includes an opportunity. I want you to remember that statement. Yes, our country is facing some economic obstacles. These obstacles have created a ripple effect of obstacles that all of us have felt. Some have lost thousands of dollars in their investments. Some have had their salaries frozen. Some have lost their jobs. And, let’s be honest, we may not have seen the worst of it yet. In spite of an astounding amount of dollars being poured out in bailouts, the unemployment rate continues to rise and could soon reach 10% of our country’s workforce. But remember…every obstacle includes an opportunity. And I believe that there are some opportunities when it comes to our finances that we might be more willing to take advantage of now more than ever.
According to the book of Proverbs, there are certain advantages to money. One such advantage is that Money can allow us to help the poor. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.” Did you see that? God blesses our generosity with His generosity. When I am gracious to someone who is lacking it is equal to being gracious to the Lord.
This was a theme of Jesus. “When we do it to the least of these,” Jesus said, “We are doing it for Him.” In other words, when we give food to the hungry, it is like feeding Jesus. When we give clothes to the naked, it is like clothing Jesus. And according to this verse, our using our money to help the poor is something that God rewards in our lives. He will repay us for our good deeds to the poor. That makes it a “double win”. Not only is my ministering to the poor equal to ministering to the Lord but it results in the Lord blessing me. Talk about an advantage!! That’s a double advantage.
Proverbs 28:27 goes on and says, “He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.” Wow! Once again, advantage us! When we use our money to help the poor it guarantees that God will meet our needs. But the flip-side is also true. When we shut our eyes to the plight of the poor we bring negative consequences upon us and our families. I’ll be perfectly honest. I think that is exactly what the church in America has done. While we have enjoyed our prosperity we have likewise closed our eyes to the poor and needy in our communities and around our world.
Let’s not cruise past this point too quickly. Folks, listen, unless you have traveled to the other parts of the world, you don’t really understand what poverty is all about. Most Americans have no idea what real poverty looks like. I’ve seen it up close and personal in the streets and villages of Cambodia and in portions of Israel, Jordan and Egypt. If you liquidated everything and were worth over $60,000, you would be in the top 10% of wealth in the world. If your worth is $500,000 or more you would be wealthier than 99% of the world. You would be in the top 1% of wealth globally. To us, poverty is not being able to buy the new i-phone or take the luxurious vacation or eat out more than once a week. In many parts of the world poverty is not knowing if your children will survive another day due to lack of food and clean water.
According to the book of Proverbs, there are certain advantages to money. One such advantage is that Money can allow us to help the poor. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.” Did you see that? God blesses our generosity with His generosity. When I am gracious to someone who is lacking it is equal to being gracious to the Lord.
This was a theme of Jesus. “When we do it to the least of these,” Jesus said, “We are doing it for Him.” In other words, when we give food to the hungry, it is like feeding Jesus. When we give clothes to the naked, it is like clothing Jesus. And according to this verse, our using our money to help the poor is something that God rewards in our lives. He will repay us for our good deeds to the poor. That makes it a “double win”. Not only is my ministering to the poor equal to ministering to the Lord but it results in the Lord blessing me. Talk about an advantage!! That’s a double advantage.
Proverbs 28:27 goes on and says, “He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.” Wow! Once again, advantage us! When we use our money to help the poor it guarantees that God will meet our needs. But the flip-side is also true. When we shut our eyes to the plight of the poor we bring negative consequences upon us and our families. I’ll be perfectly honest. I think that is exactly what the church in America has done. While we have enjoyed our prosperity we have likewise closed our eyes to the poor and needy in our communities and around our world.
Let’s not cruise past this point too quickly. Folks, listen, unless you have traveled to the other parts of the world, you don’t really understand what poverty is all about. Most Americans have no idea what real poverty looks like. I’ve seen it up close and personal in the streets and villages of Cambodia and in portions of Israel, Jordan and Egypt. If you liquidated everything and were worth over $60,000, you would be in the top 10% of wealth in the world. If your worth is $500,000 or more you would be wealthier than 99% of the world. You would be in the top 1% of wealth globally. To us, poverty is not being able to buy the new i-phone or take the luxurious vacation or eat out more than once a week. In many parts of the world poverty is not knowing if your children will survive another day due to lack of food and clean water.
More tomorrow...
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