Blessed Are the Needy
Posted by: forthrightmag <forthrightmag@...>
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COLUMN: Field Notes
Blessed Are the Needy
by Michael E. Brooks
"But he gives more grace. Therefore He
says, God resists the proud, but gives
grace to the humble" (Jas. 4:6).
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ...
Blessed are the meek, for they shall
inherit the earth. Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for
they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:3,5-6).
Poverty is alive and well on the planet Earth.
Sometimes those of us who have been more
materially blessed can lose sight of that fact.
Huge numbers of people on every continent go to
bed hungry each night. They live in single rooms,
or on the streets, wearing the same clothes for
months or years at a time. Many only dream of
education for themselves or their children. High
percentages in the most populous areas are
landless and essentially unemployed. Average
annual income in some countries is less than the
weekly salary of working people in others.
When one visits such conditions, it is easy to
think in terms of injustice and inequity. How can
we say, "God shows no partiality" (Acts 10:34),
when a few seem to have "everything" whereas so
many have "nothing"? Such apparent unfairness has
caused many to question the very existence or, at
least, the goodness of God.
The Bible's answer to such charges is simple, yet
profound. Material conditions are not the only
thing, and certainly they are by far not the most
important thing. If fact, God often uses need to
prompt us to dependence and thus to faith. To
paraphrase Romans 10:14ff, "how will they call
upon him whom they do not need?" A healthy person
rarely visits a physician. Those who feel
prospered seldom cry out in desperation and need.
It is at least in part for this reason that God
cannot help the proud. They don't "need" God nor
do they look to him. But the humble are much
different. A feeling of inadequacy does much to
make one look upwards. The awareness of desperate
hungers drives one to search for that which fills.
It is no coincidence that evangelism produces
great results in Asian and Latin American
countries of great poverty, and much slimmer
harvest in "developed" Western nations. As Paul
observed, "not many wise according to the flesh,
not many mighty, not many noble, are called" (1
Cor. 1:26).
For this reason it is not at all inappropriate to
state, "Blessed are the needy." It is to the
humble that God gives his grace. And more than
wealth, power, fame, and pleasure, God's grace is
great blessing. It assures us of his love and
care, his forgiveness, and his eternal salvation.
Thank God for poverty. May he send it to more of
those who stubbornly refuse to recognize their
need.
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