What About the Poor

I grew up with constant teaching from the church that one of the primary Christian responsibilities is to help the poor. Helping the poor, as I have said in other places and times, means that you help them. In other words, to truly help the poor you leave them better than you found them. The challenge is trying to figure out what truly helps and 'when is helping hurtful'? Christians, probably led more by political leaning than the Gospel, currently lean in two opposite directions. One declares that the government should be structured such that poverty is eradicated, economic disparity erased, and taxes are used to pry the resources from the well to do and distribute them to those in need. There is a range here, extending all the way from liberalism to socialism and culminating in communism. On the other hand, the more conservative approach is to create an environment where people can pursue their dreams and through hard work (and some luck!) achieve wealth building. The government is best which takes the least from the worker. Here too there are more and less radical approaches, leading all the way to the social/economic Darwinism of "survival of the fittest." Neither extreme is Christian, but certainly there is truth in both approaches which must be balanced and discerned.

Today we read Mark 14:1-11. Jesus is in the outskirts of Jerusalem, and Passover is near. The plot to kill Jesus has been hatched, and the Lord is still trying to make it clear to His disciples that the destination of this weekend is a horrible death. Suddenly a woman enters, busts an expensive jar of ointment, and pours it on His head. (The cost is what a laborer earned in 300 days!) The onlookers criticize it as waste, saying that the poor could have benefited! There is truth in this. I have often found myself saying the same thing as I look at this expenditure or that. "What about the poor?"

Jesus has love for the poor and did more for them than anyone else. He healed them and touched them. He talked to them and treated them as children of God, not "the needy." He spoke out against the abuses which caused their poverty to be unrelenting, in particular the power structures of his day. He declared them blessed and promised that they would some day see God. Already, in the here and now, He was the human face of God through His compassion and love. So, one would assume, Jesus would agree with the criticism, and say, "sell it and feed the poor." He doesn't. Instead He defends her. He defends her because the needs of the poor are unending, He makes clear. The opportunities to help the poor will be myriad. Poverty has many causes, and we cannot address them all. Sometimes people even make choices to become poor. Helping the poor is important, but it is not the only thing.

Anointing the dead is another Jewish duty. The instruction of God includes many duties and responsibilities. This is why it is not easy to be a Christian. There are many demands: praying and worshipping, serving and helping, studying and learning, loving and fellowshipping. The list is long and varied. How do I spend myself? How do I give my time, talent and treasure? There is no one answer which fits all circumstances.

This is why a clean mind and pure heart are vital. Sometimes the Spirit calls us to do things which might appear wasteful. Sometimes a good thing (care for the poor) is not the best thing. Circumstances must be recognized. Sometimes Jesus needs to be anointed.

Today, if you hear His voice, harden not your heart. Let Jesus tell you the best thing to do, today. Do not assume the good thing you love (whatever it is) is always the best thing to do....