Christian Mission and Poverty

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Christian Mission and Poverty

Scripture names “the poor” as central to the Gospel in important ways. By investigating what this means, we can grow in understanding how Jesus uses the phrase “the poor” and how Jesus’ words overturn many common ways our society thinks about poverty. As we listen to Jesus, we learn that many people in material poverty are rich in the things of the kingdom. I have certainly found this to be the case as people who are underemployed or who rely on public assistance are often very generous toward their church and community. Conversely, as we listen to Jesus, we hear that a person can be rich in material goods and yet poor in spiritual goods. Jesus is getting at this idea when he says that it is difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:23). Jesus proclaims the kingdom as a great role reversal in which the “first will be last and the last first” (Matt 19:30). Christ includes both rich and poor in his kingdom yet consistently emphasizes the centrality of people who are poor in his messianic mission. This is not to idealize poverty or to pretend that not having one’s daily needs met is a good thing. Poverty is not a romantic state of being but is often a crushing reality under which people are consigned to suffer. The lack of stability my neighbors experience and the mold- infested houses in which many live are not to be desired. Lacking a working furnace in the winter, heating one’s home with an open oven, or a child scraping together what little food is left in the cupboards are all tragedies. Meanwhile, Christians often argue about whether poverty is the result of a failure of personal responsibility or a failure of systems stacked against people in poverty. The