Help the Poor 2

James 1:27

The other night at Bible study I commented that I felt James was a Methodist. It is part of the Methodist heritage, initiated by John Wesley about 300 years ago, that we not only pray for and have compassion for people in need, but we also do something about the situation. In other words, we can’t simply sit around feeling sorry for the plight of people. We need to get out there and try to make things better.

What is James’ comment on religion? How might we do these two things?

James is blunt and perhaps has over-simplified our faith. His claim is that what God wants, what is acceptable to God as pure, is a faith that takes care of the needs of others. In this specific instance James refers to widows and orphans, but I believe this comment can be extended to anyone who is struggling and poor.

James urges us to “look after” these needy individuals. I don’t think he is referring to dropping in on them from time to time to see how they are getting on. I believe he means for us to be active in improving their situation. Looking after another might involve helping them get a better life.

In Matthew 26:11 Jesus tells those around him, “The poor you will always have with you . . . .” There is indeed no shortage of needy persons. There are desperate poor in Africa and Asia, in the Middle East, and in Eastern Europe. We have recently been made aware of the poor in Haiti.

But you don’t need to go beyond the borders of our country to find people who are struggling. I would wager that you don’t even need to go beyond your own community, maybe your own neighborhood, to find someone who needs help.

The questions are, do you see the need, and will you do anything about it?

If we will be followers of Jesus then we must live out our faith. If our faith is to be pure and faultless, if our faith is to be acceptable to God, then we should be looking for ways to assist those in need. Being active in your expression of God’s compassion can help you to remain free from the spiritual pollution of the world.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you find a ministry that helps the poor and become involved in it?

Relevance 3

James 1:27

Coming from a secular business background into the ministry, one of the hardest issues I have had to deal with – and still do – is getting caught up in getting things done. With an eye toward the completed project I can become frustrated when someone interrupts me because they need to talk. But that is the primary purpose of ministry – helping those in need. The neatly decorated altar, the tidy Sanctuary, the completed bulletin can and should be set aside when someone comes to me.

James condenses ministry into a very simple instruction. What is our “religion” supposed to do?

Each of us can get caught up in our “religion” – going through the motions of worship, Bible study, prayers, and so on. We can easily forget that one of the main things we are called to is helping those in need. The perfect examples in the First Century were the widows and orphans. In our community we might replace these with the homeless, working poor, drug addicts, alcoholics, AIDS sufferers.

Last week we looked at the problem of appearing to be a Christian without really feeling or thinking like a Christian. Now we look at doing the work of the Christian. We must be relevant. We must address the issues of strife and struggle in the lives of people.

To be relevant we need to be involved and engaged with our society. We cannot keep our eyes on Jesus by avoiding looking at the people all around us who need our compassion and help.

But part of our “religion,” our faith, requires that we avoid falling into the secular sinfulness of the world. James tells us to keep “from being polluted by the world.” We can not nor should not avoid the world. Real Christians work to ease the distress of others. We must, however, be cautious of the temptations of the world.

DAILY CHALLENGE: How are you “religious?”