The Rich and The Poor

"He seeks the hearts of the rich and the poor to turn their lives over to Christ's Lordship."

ONE MAN’S TRASH is another man’s treasure. What is valuable to one is of no value sometimes to even his friends. What is valued between people, instead, is not their monetary worth but their motive or their heart behind it. Can the man, given much, give it all away and suffer no internal conflict, no jealousy, no regret? Can the man with nothing rejoice in his circumstances, and will he look to God for that day’s needs? In the Scriptures, a woman gave her last two pennies, and Jesus remarked that what she’d given was worth far more than greater amounts given by others in their greed. They desired to be seen in their giving. She desired to give from a pure heart, though it left her with nothing.

Money creates many wrinkles. The brow, the pocket, the mouth. And one turns upward and one turns outward. Empty pockets make for mood swings. Full pockets seen and not experienced can make anger. But what one man values and another man desires are to be held in similar esteem and of equal value. Though his dollar is seen as pennies-worth to him, whereas to her it is a much higher cost, the attitude of both individuals is to be the same. In Christ, there is no partiality, not from God to men and not from man to man. He seeks the hearts of the rich and the poor to turn their lives over to Christ’s Lordship. Then having been made new in Him, they are both to seek Him for their daily bread, whether one can afford to purchase the grocery store and the other is scraping spare change for a pack of noodles.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew’s gospel speak several times of man’s attitude about money. But often, though people read through these portions, they miss the common thread. Chapter 5 begins with the attitude we are to hold – humbleness, mourning, meekness, righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, and peace. In these, we model ourselves after our heavenly Father, who spoke these words through His Son. Much could be said of each word, but for brevity’s sake, I will only explain one, for a moment. Mourning is meant, as is traditionally thought, to be those who have suffered great loss. But considering each of these words, to simplify it in that manner takes it out of context. Mourning is defined in the Greek as “to lament.” The book of Lamentations is the lament of the prophet Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah spoke the Father’s words, being anointed to that office. God mourned what had happened to the Great City of the King and then stated, through the prophet, that He was a God of faithfulness and mercy. Our mourning is to be what lays on the Father’s heart, whether that is Israel or our current government or the loss of the unborn. Whatever God mourns, we mourn and then He promises, once again, His grace and goodness in comfort.

We should not mourn money, not the loss of it, nor hold the gain in prideful rejoicing. Our attitude toward monetary things is to be the same as our lament – we seek God’s heart. And Jesus continued in this sermon to speak of men’s pride in following the Law, in their behaviors toward those considered lower than them, in their alms-giving, in their fasting and prayer. Of interest, the word “alms” means mercy to the poor. Rereading those verses and substituting the word “mercy” highlights their importance. But the point is, Jesus speaks of both the pride over money and of anxiety because of its lack. We are to hold neither attitude.

“Take heed that ye do not your MERCY before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine MERCY, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.” (Matthew 6:1-2)

In Matthew 7, He moves from faith in God to supply our food and clothing to not judging each other. This is not a separate subject but one which feeds from what is spoken before. “Judge not, that ye be not judged,” and “How wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye: and, behold a beam is in thine own eye.” Judgment between each other over clothing or eating habits, over alms-giving, over how long and loud we might pray is frankly ridiculous. Whether this man of God has a mansion and that one drives an expensive car, whether she works three jobs to support her children and has nothing left when the bills are paid, makes neither person more holy than the other. And that is Jesus’ meaning.

Philippians 4:5 says, “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” Moderation is to be our appearance. It is what men see of us. Does the one who has so much give most of it away? And does not God, knowing that man’s heart, return it to him exceeding, abundantly above? Those are the rewards written in Scripture. Does the other, who struggles to make ends meet, not always do so? Isn’t God enough for her? The rich man has moderation and generosity in giving. The poor woman has moderation in hard work with a good heart and continual faith for her needs to be met. The church should embrace and love both.

Scriptures against jealousy and envy, quarreling and strife abound in the Word of God, as to Scriptures about being offended and angry. We are to avoid all of these thoughts and behaviors and to recognize them when they flash up within us. If I realize I am upset over what someone else owns, then I need to renew my mind to God’s perspective. He said to “love one another” and to “pray for all men.” He said if we had faith big enough to move a mountain but had not love, we were wasting our breath. And there, in that is the attitude toward acquiring money. Jesus said, again in His sermon recorded in Matthew, that we cannot serve God and money. He did not say we do not need money nor that He will not bless us with money, but money is never a position of pride. It is not worth bragging about for any effort of our own. Instead, we rejoice in God’s generous provision into our lives that He has filled our every need, just as a kind father would do for his son.

“You must serve God or money; you cannot serve both.” (Matthew 6:24 Knox)

We give no thought to money, further than what financial planning we must do to use it properly. We don’t worry about it, nor concern ourselves with its lack, because whatever amount we need, God will make sure we have it. We walk in faith over our need for money. We give generously out of a kind heart, a pure heart that then sees God multiply it back to us. And we have no negative thought, no harsh comment, toward anyone who has more or less of it than us. Instead, we show gentleness. This is another definition of “moderation.” It is consideration for one another that is seen in us as it was seen in Christ, who thought not of His daily needs but of the needs of those around Him, and in so doing revealed the Father’s heart.

His streets are made of gold, His walls are made of silver, He has diamond-studded homes, and probably gilded sandals. Yet what moment is of the most value to Him involved and old, rugged cross on a hill He created, and a tomb hewn for a rich man that became His grave and His Resurrection.

“Do not lay up treasure for yourselves on earth, where there is moth and rust to consume it, where there are thieves to break in and steal it; lay up treasure for yourselves in heaven, where there is no moth or rust to consume it, no thieves to break in and steal. Where your treasure-house is, there your heart is too.” (Matthew 6:19-21, Knox)

Image by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay


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Suzanne D. Williams, Author
www.suzannedwilliams.com
www.feelgoodromance.com