HOW WE TREAT THE POOR

This seems to be the most obvious thing to all followers of Christ. How can politicians who SCREAM that they are Christians not understand this? (and in particular, follow the current administration in cutting all sorts of care for the poor!?) Poverty in the scriptures: An introduction

D.T. Bell lives in Salt Lake with his wife and three kids. He works in technology, but used to work in international aid and development. He first developed an interest in issues relating to poverty while serving a mission in Argentina. He was into the Bloggernacle before it was cool. Just kidding, it will never be cool. 

I've been trying to read the Book of Mormon sequentially, which is something I don't usually do as part of my scripture study. As I've read sequentially, I've been surprised by the amount of scriptures I've encountered that deal with how the disciples of Christ are to treat those who are poor, as well as by the intensity of the content of these scriptures.

Curious to see whether my impression of the frequency and intensity of poverty-related scriptures was borne out by a more analytical approach, I cracked open my old friend, the Topical Guide. It turns out it was.

I've posted my analysis below, wherein I looked at every scripture in the Topical Guide for Poor, Almsgiving etc., as well as scriptures I found by looking at every footnote for every verse I read. I then created a framework that could contain the concepts I found in those scriptures. There are obviously different ways to approach it, but almost all the scriptures I found fall into at least one or more of the following categories:

1. Commandments for how we are to treat the poor;
   
2. Promises of what will happen to us based on how we treat the poor (both blessings and punishments);
   
3. Statements of fact with regard to our treatment of the poor.

I'll dedicate some successive posts to some of the main ideas found in these categories, as well as some of the thorny issues they present to the modern Latter-day Saint who seeks to follow the Lord's counsel regarding the poor. But for now, I'll leave you with the scriptures I found and the categories they fall into. (If you'd like to read all of the scriptures I used in my analysis you can go here):

Commandments:

• Don’t harden your heart to the poor (Deuteronomy 15:7-11,
• Given the poor what they need/want/ask for unbegrudgingly (Deuteronomy 15:7-11 Matthew 5:42, Jacob 2:17-19, Mosiah 4:16-23, 26-27, 3 Nephi 12:42)
• Give away your goods to the poor (Luke 3:11, D&C 42:30)
• Seek riches with the intent to help others (Jacob 2:17-19)
• Remember and visit the poor and administer relief to them (D&C 44:6, D&C 52:40)

Promises:

• Blessings from helping the poor
  • The Lord will bless you in all your endeavors (Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Psalms 41:1-3)
  • The Lord will deliver you in times of trouble and from your enemies (Psalms 41:1-3)
  • The Lord will preserve your life (Psalms 41:1-3)
  • You will be happy (Proverbs 14:21)
  • That which is given to the poor will be repaid by the Lord as though it were a loan to Him (Proverbs 19:17)
  • You will not lack (Proverbs 28:27)
  • Eternal salvation (Matthew 25:31-46)
  • Yours sins will be remitted (Mosiah 4:16-23, 26-27)
• Punishments for not helping the poor
  • If you refuse to hear the cries of the poor, your own cries and prayers to the Lord will not be heard (Proverbs 21:13, Alma 34:28)
  • If you hide your eyes from the poor you will be cursed (Proverbs 28:27)
  • Eternal damnation (Matthew 25:31-46, D&C 56:16, D&C 104:17-18)
  • Your soul will be cankered by your riches unless you share with the poor (D&C 56:16)
  • Those who believe the poor have brought their poverty upon themselves and therefore refuse to help them will perish and not obtain the Kingdom of God (Mosiah 4:16-23, 26-27)
  • Temporal inequality will lead to the Spirit being withheld (D&C 70:14, Alma 16:16, D&C 78:5-6)

Facts:

• The wicked persecute the poor (Psalms 10:2)
• Despising the poor is a sin (Proverbs 14:21, 2 Nephi 9:30)
• To oppress or mock the poor is to reproach God (Proverbs 14:31, Proverbs 17:5)
• To have mercy on the poor is to honor God (Proverbs 14:31)
• To have pity unto the poor is to lend unto God (Proverbs 19:17)
• The purpose of the fast is to give bread to the hungry, bring the poor to your house, and cover the naked (Isaiah 58:7)
• One of the sins of Sodom was failing to strengthen the hand of the poor and needy (Ezekiel 16:49)
• He who has goods and sees others in need does not have the love of God in him and is not a disciple/saint of Christ  (1 John 3:17, D&C 52:40, D&C 105:3)
• Persecution or robbery of the poor is a sign of pride (2 Nephi 28:12-13)
• Failure to help the poor is hypocrisy and a denial of the faith (Alma 34:28)
• Failure to help the poor is one of the sins that results in societal and military destruction (Helaman 4:11-13, Helaman 6:39-40)
• In the latter days many people will love material things more than they love the poor (Mormon 8:37, 39)
• It’s sin for one man to possess more than another (D&C 49:20)
• Failure to help the poor correlates to lack of obedience and evil (D&C 105:3)
• There are no poor in Zion (Moses 7:18)

If you know of other scriptures - or key concepts - that I've missed, please weigh in in the comments. Thanks!

CHALLENGE TO CHRISTIANS TO BECOME MORE CHRISTLIKE

Part of a blog I loved:

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/the-call-for-christians-to-radically-love-our-muslim-neighbors/

What our culture needs more than ever is people who are modeling their lives after Jesus of Nazareth (peace be upon him) instead of operating under the current narrative of hostility that too many Christian leaders are inviting us into. If the world is going to change, it will only be because you and I chose to act– now.

How do we move forward? Ironically, let’s play their game for a minute and see where it takes us: let’s suppose that Muslims are our enemy and that Islam is evil. How do the people of Jesus respond?

Well, Jesus makes it clear: love and serve your enemies- go the extra mile for them. As far as dealing with evil, the Apostle Paul teaches in Romans that we are not to “overcome evil with evil but evil with good.”

So, fellow Christians in America and around the world, I think we have our roadmap for how we ought to live: we ought to radically love our Muslim neighbors and actively do good towards them. In fact, for those who wish to actually follow Jesus, this is the only roadmap.

Unfortunately, it’s not enough to quietly love in our hearts- we are invited to love not with words, but with actions (1 John 3:18). So here’s my challenge fellow Christians:

Changing the world starts with you. This piece is an invitation to begin participating in the “healing of the nations” by taking action, right now. That action? You are hereby challenged to find ways to radically love your Muslim neighbors– indiscriminate, lavish, love. ...But I’m convinced you’ll find Muslim neighbors to love if you open your eyes and look.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Learn how to greet Muslims in Arabic, and when you pass them on the street smile and say hello with the proper greeting (which actually means “peace be upon you”). There’s plenty of Youtube videos to teach you how, but here’s an easy one.

Find Muslim families in your neighborhood and introduce yourself. Ask if you can do something nice for them, just as neighbors and no strings attached. Help them with a project on their home, help them with yard work, or invite them to dinner (but make sure it’s halal).

Find a Muslim and sit and learn from them. Discover what they truly believe– you might be surprised at all the areas of commonality between Christianity and Islam- two members of the Abrahamic faith.

Is their a Muslim community center in your area? Go by for a visit and ask if there are any areas where you could volunteer and serve the Muslim community.

...These are just a few ideas, but be creative- there’s no shortage of ways that you could find to love the Muslim neighbors in your midst.

But let me be clear: the path we are on is not a good one. Terrorism by some extreme Muslims (who are usually political and not actually that religious) is wrongfully causing all Muslims to be feared and mistrusted. This fear and mistrust gives way to real persecution, which will undoubtedly lead to legitimate fear and mistrust in return. The only way out of this cultural mess, is for someone to take responsibility for changing it– and that’s where you and I come in.

We can change the course of history in America by radically loving and serving our Muslim neighbors, and by tearing down the walls of mistrust which separate us.

Will you continue down the same old path? Or, will you choose to radically love?

I’m choosing love, and I hope you’ll join me.