Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
~ Luke 6:20
Is it indeed a blessing to be poor? Many people would rather be rich.
Yet, many of the saddest and loneliest people are among the rich.
And many who are poor lead happy and contented lives.
Someone wrote, “God must love the poor; He made so many of them.”
Christ told His disciples, “The poor you will always have with you.”
God indeed loves the poor. The Anawim Yahweh had a special place in His heart.
Jesus proclaimed them blessed and announced that the Kingdom of God is among them.
And if one listens to Jesus, compassion for the poor indeed makes one a better person.
When one sees poor people, there is that urge and desire to do something for them.
The empathy one feels drives the aspiration and the impulse to make things better.
It is also the poor who are more receptive to the message of Jesus.
It is also the poor who drive change in social structures.
It is the rich who usually want to maintain the status quo.
It is the rich who would sacrifice one man for the sake of the whole nation.
It is this lesson what history teaches us but we never learn.
Lord Jesus, let me not be entranced by the seduction of riches that I become blind and unfeeling of the plight of the poor and oppressed.