Dealing With Destitution

These are times of turmoil and unrest. As a nation, we find ourselves at a crossroads on many issues. One of the great things about democracy is that we are allowed to have our own opinions and take on what is going on around us. But, if we’re honest, the situations we face are far from simple and require thoughtful, wise solutions. Unfortunately, due to how strongly we hold our opinions, getting to a consensus is complicated as well. I would like to see how the word of God weighs in on some of the complicated things we are facing. May we grant each other grace and an ear as we face the future together. Because face it we will.

Proverbs 31:2

What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?
What are you doing, son of my vows? (ESV)

“What are you doing, my son?” King Lemuel’s mother asks him three times. Each time more emphasis is given to the question. In the first instance she states her relationship with him. In the second statement Lemuel’s mother seems to be emphasizing that he came from her. He should give special heed to her words. She has his best interest at heart. She cares for him. In the third statement she states that he is the result of her vows. It is implied that Lemuel came about, in part, because his mother was a woman of her word. Lemuel was on the earth because his mother was committed to his father and we hope that Lemuel will follow in her footsteps, being a faithful man. Lemuel’s mother asks him this question as a means to get him to reflect on what kind of king he will be. He will, after all, greatly influence other people.

We, too, as children of God, have the opportunity to greatly influence those around us. Maybe even more so with social media and all of the opportunities for good and evil that come with it. Perhaps the question, “What are you doing, my son?”, could be a way to guard against knee-jerk reactions. And this raises the question: How will we use our influence?

So, what are we doing? This world is troubled, to say the least. And it is full of people who are hurting and suffering from injustice. What will our response be to those who are disadvantaged, the foreigner, the widow, the orphan? Now, I’m not talking politics. In fact, I want to stay away from politics altogether. I want to avoid knee-jerk reactions. I think that our relationship with Jesus, and what the Bible says, should transcend all of our ideologies and take precedence over them. Politics addresses these questions on a national level. But, I want to look at how we should react personally. I know that these are touchy and controversial issues, but I think bringing God’s word to bear on them will be a helpful exercise.

Let’s start by taking a look at the immigrant*, the fatherless, and the widow. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 says, “For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” Wow! Love the sojourner! God loves the sojourner! Even Jesus was a sojourner (one might even say a refugee fleeing Herod) in Egypt. Now, I can imagine some of the responses I might get, and I’m not saying that illegal immigration and the refugee crisis is not a complicated issue and I know it needs to be dealt with. But remember, we are dealing here with our personal response to a person made in God’s image—a person who needs the Good News! And if we let the gospel come to bear on our relationship with others we just might win them to Christ.

Jeremiah 7:5-7 says, “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.” (ESV) Obviously we can continue to conclude that the immigrant, the fatherless, and the widow are people that Jesus loves and should be of concern to us as well. Now looking at Leviticus 19:33-34 God says: When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (ESV) I love these verses because they mirror beautifully Jesus’ charge to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Mark 12:31 ESV) The foreigner is our neighbor as well. Psalm 146:9 gives us a bit more of the same: The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. (ESV) Matthew 25:35-36 crowns these ideas beautifully when Jesus says, “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” (ESV) What a privilege is ours! We can be Jesus hands and feet to those suffering around us today! I mentioned this as a note below, but the word stranger can be used for foreigner. Our attitude is to be one of welcome.

Now, lets take a few seconds to talk about the refugee. I know, a powder keg, right? Again, I know we have to come to some viable solutions, but lets leave politics out of it. Just let me ask, how does Jesus feel about the refugee? How does Jesus feel about the photo of that little Syrian boy, Alan Kurdi, lying face down and drowned on the beach? We have to ask ourselves these questions because they are obviously near God’s heart. Thinking about refugees and foreigners within our borders in general, I’ve often heard this quote, “The world has come to our doorstep.” That rings true, doesn’t it? Many of these people come from closed countries where sharing the gospel is illegal. What a great opportunity to share the Good News! Maybe we should get to now someone from another culture today. Maybe God wants to use us to change someone’s life by having compassion on them or defending them.

Now, I’m sure there is overlap when we talk about these different people groups, but let’s take a look at the disadvantaged and needy. We need look no further than Lemuel’s mother’s words to him in verses 8-9: Proverbs 31:8-9

Open your mouth for the mute,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
defend the rights of the poor and needy. (ESV)

The focus on this verse is a bit more on the side of those who are economically disadvantaged. However, the word destitute could justify a much broader application of this verse.

I know I’ve touched on some tough issues in this post. In truth, I could write a book on this topic and go way more in depth than I already have. There are books out there that address these issues, but I have not read them yet. I can only pray I’ve done a good job representing Jesus’ heart and desires in the midst of this post and not pushed some agenda. Each of us has a responsibility to use our mouth for good. We have a responsibility to be the hands and feet of our Savior to the poor, the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner. How can we hope to win someone to Christ if our actions and words don’t show the same love that is ours in Jesus? I pray Jesus uses each one of us to bring someone to His feet.

*The words stranger, sojourner, and alien are all used in the Bible in reference to immigrants or foreigners and can be interchanged.