Matthew 26:11 “The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”

This statement flies in the face of liberal policies and completely violates communist dogma. (However, that dogma is lying hypocrisy in the first place, so that should come as no surprise.) Jesus was not saying that poverty is a good thing, He was simply saying that it is part of the human condition, and won’t be eliminated until the world is remade. In His earthly ministry He was roundly criticized for treating everyone equally and being more concerned with the state of their soul than the state of their bank account. In general, He tended to treat material wealth more as a liability than as an asset. We have a lot of trouble with that! He was very concerned with people’s stewardship of what they had, whether that was much or little, which would put Him firmly on the side of giving people opportunities rather than hand-outs. He was certainly compassionate, but that in no way meant He advocated irresponsibility. In this verse He makes it very clear that God must be our first priority, and everything else is to flow from that.

This is a hot topic in the world today. Disasters such as happened last month here in Japan provide an unequivocal opportunity to help people materially, and a strong case could be made for saying that the inflated salaries paid to some American executives are immoral, but the ground between requires wisdom and restraint. I was blessed to grow up with enough financial resources not to feel needy, but not with so much as to be careless with money either. Actually, that’s been my situation all my life. That’s not to say that I haven’t had some extremely tight times, but in retrospect, those times had their own blessings. As I have commented to some people, those in Northeast Japan who lost everything material are probably discovering things that are far more important than the material. I am not to be callous toward poverty, but neither am I to have a knee-jerk reaction of saying that it is intrinsically bad. “Redistributing the wealth” is generally based more on greed than real compassion!

Father, I get so disgusted with all that is going on in the world today, especially politically. Help me remember that You told me You aren’t pleased with it either, and trust You for Your solution in Your timing. Help me be the steward You want me to be of what You have placed in my hands, which certainly includes blessing others materially. May I keep You first indeed, in my thoughts, priorities, and actions, for the sake of Your kingdom and Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!