“If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him?” James 2:3-5 (NLT). In this passage James warns churches against favoritism, especially against favoring the rich who often oppressed the poor. Then God gives a tremendous encouragement to believers who are poor. God explains the poor will be rich in faith, and though they are poor now, in eternity they will gain far more than anyone on earth ever had. They will inherit the Kingdom of God! Thus, there is no shame in being poor. Those who are poor are often more willing to admit their neediness, which is the kind of humility God likes to reward. And their reward is a treasure of faith in God and the poor will be rich in the future kingdom of God, which is a possession more valuable than all the assets of the rich. Thus, like he often does, Jesus turned the values of the world upside-down. If we are diligent but poor, we can rejoice in our priceless spiritual wealth.
Sadly, in some congregations being poor is a sign of weak faith or a sign that you are still a young believer and have not tapped in to the material blessings God has for you. This is referred to as prosperity gospel or triumphalism. They teach that God has promised material wealth to faithful followers in the age before Jesus returns. This is a false teaching and has been discredited and renounced by the vast majority of biblical scholars. Yet, the teachings are still very popular. Those who follow these teachers will suffer loss when God rewards their lives in eternity.
Instead, God honors the poor and does not promise to lift all his poor believers out of poverty in this life. Sometimes God does do this, and congregations have an obligation to help their poor, but God never promises prosperity to all his people. He promises something much better; the poor will be rich in the kingdom of God when Jesus returns. Wouldn’t you rather have this blessing? So, isn’t it better to honor the poor in our congregations and to present them as models of faith and imitation of Jesus’ lifestyle?
When you think about the poor in your congregation (I don’t mean not having enough food to eat or living on the street – we need to help them) do you think of them as chosen by God to inherit the kingdom? Do you believe the poor will be rich in the kingdom?
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