THE MEASURE OF RICH VS. POOR

   My family did not have much money, but we were rich nevertheless. We were not poor because my father was lazy. He worked long, hard hours at jobs that were hazardous and physically demanding. But for many years he received low pay. Low pay plus a large family equals poor. God blessed us with other riches, though, that monetary things can never measure up to.

   My parents had four small children over a span of as many years. Even so, they were willing to take in my two young cousins who had become homeless. Later, two more babies entered the family. Mom and Dad were poor in cash, but rich in compassion and love.

   We learned to have fun naturally and did not rely on the artificial fun that comes from things that money can buy, “canned fun,” or worldly activities. My mother played the piano by ear, so we would often sing church songs around the piano. She and “the twins” each had a great sense of humor, so we never lacked for entertainment. We were rich in spirit.

   Though some treated us as if we were bad and looked down on us because we were poor, we were good people – Christian people. God carried us through several traumas and much adversity, including a car wreck that involved all ten of us and in which my mother’s shoulders were crushed when she was thrown from the car. That is a story in and of itself. Through all of our trials, God was our hope and our sustainer. We were rich in God’s love and care.

   The poor are not to be despised. Christians are to look at no one from a worldly point of view (II Cor. 5:16). Our commission is to help the poor, including the fatherless, the widows, and the aliens who have no one to help them. Paul told Timothy in one of his letters to command those who have worldly riches “to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share” (I Timothy 6:18).

   In order for Christians to share their greatest riches with the poor, we must first try to understand them. We must go where they go, do what they do, and feel what they feel. If we really want to make a difference in their lives, we will share the riches of our time, energy, and expertise. A hand-up is worth more to them than a handout. We can also point them in the right direction and offer them encouragement. But bear in mind, the poor can increase our riches, too, for there is as much or more to learn from them as they do from us.

   We can be confident that God can restore the poor. He has a special place in His heart for them God chose those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom. He promised those who love him (James 2:5).To those who say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing,” He says, “realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17. So the question is, who is really rich and who is really poor?

--Becky Wall

2 "Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all." Provrbs 22:2