Tag: Poverty

Digging in Deeper: Micah 2:3

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“Therefore, the Lord says: I am now planning a disaster against this nation; you cannot free your necks from it. Then you will not walk so proudly because it will be an evil time.”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

The funny—and the frustrating—thing about the Bible is that it lends itself to wildly different interpretations by folks who come to it from different perspectives. Some people can look at it and clearly see one thing, while others can look at the same place and see something totally different. One of the debates that rages the hottest is the perspective of the Scriptures on rich people. The shortest answer is: It’s complicated. Let’s talk for a minute about what it collectively does and doesn’t say with this passage as our guide.

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Morning Musing: 1 Corinthians 1:28

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**This will be my last post this week. I hope you and your family have a very, Merry Christmas. May you know the full blessings that only the birth of our Savior can bring. See you Monday!

“God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world — what is viewed as nothing — to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

We are wowed by power and prestige. We give deference to wealth. We assume that rich people are smarter and better informed about…well…everything than poor people. We expect more from people we deem powerful than those we don’t. We look to befriend people we think will give us some sort of social or vocational advantage. We do this because we make judgments based on what we can see. This works if some sort of worldly success is our goal. When it comes to the kingdom of God, though, all of this gets turned on its head.

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Morning Musing: Amos 5:10-12

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“They hate the one who convicts the guilty at the city gate, and they despise the one who speaks with integrity. Therefore, because you trample on the poor and exact a grain tax from him, you will never live in the houses of cut stone you have built; you will never drink the wine from the lush vineyards you have planted. For I know your crimes are many and your sins innumerable. They oppress the righteous, take a bribe, and deprive the poor of justice at the city gates.”
— ‭‭Amos‬ ‭5:10-12‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter)

What is it that gets you the most worked up? What is it that when you see it happen, you get all fired up and take a while to calm down? What makes you angry? Whatever this thing is, it’s a clue to what’s most important to you. Now, if this thing is something pretty trivial, it may be an indicator that you’ve got some priorities in need of straightening out. Knowing what is most important to you matters, though, because it allows you to set some direction for your life. What we get in these three verses from Amos is a picture of one of the things that is most important to God.

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Digging in Deeper: Proverbs 24:11-12

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“Rescue those being taken off to death, and save those stumbling toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we didn’t know about this,’ won’t he who weighs hearts consider it? Won’t he who protects your life know? Won’t he repay a person according to his work?”‬‬ (CSB – Read the chapter) 

Have you ever read a verse and felt convicted by it? I’ve spent the past several days reading through Proverbs 24. I initially came to this spot because I caught a verse in another context and wanted to write a note about it. Taking my own advice, I read the whole context. There’s a ton of great stuff in this chapter. And there’s this passage. It’s grabbed my heart and mind and hasn’t let go. If you would, let me explore that with you. 

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Morning Musing: Mark 10:26-27

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“And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, ‘Then who can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.’”  (ESV – Read the chapter)

Consider the disciples’ reaction here. Jesus had just made His famous declaration that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle (almost certainly a real camel and a real needle rather than some gate) than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. They understood Jesus rightly to be saying that rich people can’t get to heaven. And now that I have you hung up just like they were, if for a different reason, let me explain. Read the rest…