What does compassion for the poor have to do with worship?
When Moses preached a sermon on worship, he covered expected themes:
worship requires gathering together, focussing on the living God, holy
living, tithing, and structure through feasts and holy days
(Deuteronomy 12-16). Within his comments on tithing, however, Moses
included several directives not normally expected in a sermon on
worship. In the middle of a homily urging people to care about God, he
also urges them to care about the poor. From Moses’ perspective,
worshipping God and caring for the poor go together.
Care
for the poor is not a scarce theme in the Bible. (I read somewhere that
over 2,000 texts address the subject.) What is unique about Moses’
message here is the particular way God’s people were to express their
care.
Every three years they were to throw a party for the poor. Annually the
people gave a tenth of their harvest to the Levites, who in turn tithed
to the priests (Lev 27:30-33 and Num 18:21-32). But when the people
presented their tithe, they were to use part of it for a party.
The Message says it this way: “Make an offering of ten percent, a
tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year.
Bring this into the Presence of GOD, your God, at the place he
designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine,
and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you
will learn to live in deep reverence before GOD, your God, as long as
you live. But if the place GOD, your God, designates for worship is too
far away and you can’t carry your tithe that far, GOD, your God, will
still bless you: exchange your tithe for money and take the money to
the place GOD, your God, has chosen to be worshiped. Use the money to
buy anything you want: cattle, sheep, wine, or beer – anything that
looks good to you. You and your family can then feast in the Presence
of GOD, your God, and have a good time” (14:22-26, The Message).
I have heard a lot of sermons on tithing and stewardship, but no one
ever told me to use part of my tithe for a party! But that’s what
Israel did. Year after year at harvest time, they threw a huge party to
commemorate God’s kindness, and they paid for it from the tithe. The
purpose of the party was to “learn to live in deep reverence before
GOD.”
Throwing parties is a characteristic way we honour people. We have
parties for birthdays, marriages, graduation, promotions, and other
milestone events. We write the guest of honour’s name on a cake, make
toasts and tributes, and give gifts. Israel did that for God once a
year. They made God the centre of attention by throwing God a party.
But there’s more. Moses told Israel that every three years, instead of
throwing God a party, Israel should throw a party for orphans and
widows (Deuteronomy 14:28-29). We show “deep reverence for God”
whenever we honour those whom God has made. I’ll outline some ways we
might apply the “party throwing principle” later, but first we need to
look at what else Moses said about the poor.
Every seventh year required a Sabbath rest for the land; no planting or
harvesting. That meant that every seven years there was no money to pay
debts. People would have to live off the abundance of previous crops
that year, and since the added expense of debt payments would be too
much, Moses provided for a one-year postponement of payments (probably
not “cancellation” as with the NIV). [1]
Moses knew that this allowance, while helpful to the majority, could
potentially harm the poor, so he warned, “Be careful not to harbour
this wicked thought: ‘The seventh year, the year for [postponing] debts
is near,’” (Deut 15:9). Moses’ warning could have two meanings. He
could be saying, “Don’t be stingy and say, ‘When the year of
postponement comes, the poor will get their relief along with everybody
else. They’ll get their chance to get back on their feet!’” On the
other hand, Moses could be saying, “Don’t withhold from the needy in
the year when you don’t harvest, because you want to preserve your
resources for yourself.” The first option assumes that the poor are
poor because they lack self-reliance. The second option betrays a fear
that if we are generous to the poor we will become poor ourselves.
Moses calls the attitude that the poor should be self-reliant, and the
fear that if I give away what little I have I won’t have enough for
myself, “wicked” thoughts. “Wicked” derives from “wicker”, which is
twisted straw. A wicked thought is any thought that twists and distorts
the truth.
Is what we think about poverty true? If we say, “The poor should be
self-reliant” we wrongly assume that our own lack of woes is due to our
own wits. In affect we are saying, “If others would apply themselves
and make sensible decisions like me, they wouldn’t be in the trouble
they’re in.” The truth is that every good and perfect gift comes from
God, not from our own ingenuity. One way we can give thanks for God’s
good gifts to us is by helping the poor. When we assume that the poor
are poor because they’re lazier or less ingenious than us, we are
guilty of twisted thinking that distorts the fact that everything we
have comes from God.
On the other hand, if we give into fear and say, “Giving away some of
what I have might jeopardize my ability to meet my own needs down the
road,” we show a lack of trust in God who provides. How many of us have
never connected John’s promise that, “We receive from Him everything we
ask because we obey his commands and do what pleases him,” (1 John
3:22) with John’s earlier question, “If anyone has material possessions
and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, how can the love
of God be in him?” (1 John 3:17). If we are generous with those in
need, God will be generous with us when we are in need.
When we think of worship, we often think of public church services that
include elements like praying, singing, preaching, and sacraments. But
Moses’ teaching on worship reveals a more holistic outlook that takes
in all of living, including care for the poor. In Moses’ mind, there is
an inseparable link between worshipping God and helping people. Love
for God and compassion for people belong together. So, how would our
lives be different if we were to re-direct our self-reliance to a
renewed God-reliance, and give up our fear for a new generosity? What
are some of the ways we could take action on Moses’ advice to throw a
party for the poor?
One obvious option is to throw an actual party. If you can cook, why
not throw a great party. Pay for all the food yourself and then invite
twenty or more friends and charge them $25, $50, or $100 per plate. Let
them know that 100% of the money is going to a project. Let them know
what it is, and how their gift will make a difference. If twenty people
came, you could raise between $500 and $2,000.
If cooking isn’t your thing, what if every three years, you and your
family celebrated Christmas differently? What if instead of buying
gifts for each other, you gave the equivalent of what you would spend
to World Vision or some other agency? If that is unworkable, why not
every year buy one extra gift equal in value to what you usually spend
on a gift, and give that to World Vision?
Another option is to get behind the effort to see third world debt
cancelled. Many countries are so indebted to G7 countries, the World
Bank, and the IMF, they can hardly afford to make their payments and
develop their countries. To date, despite a lot of effort from
Christian organizations like Christian Aid, SPEAK, and lobbying by the
Pope, only 10% of third world debt has been cancelled. But even that
small amount has yielded tremendous results. For the last several
years, I have gone to Uganda to conduct teaching missions. The HIV/AIDS
crisis has hit Uganda hard. Nevertheless, ever since part of Uganda’s
debt was cancelled with the condition that they redirect savings to
HIV/AIDS education and prevention, new cases dropped 50% and death
through HIV/AIDS dropped 20%. What happened in Uganda is a great
example of how the benefits of cancelling third-world debt can be
creatively multiplied for good.
Another practical course is to lobby against the economic polices of G7
countries that keep developing countries poor. I was in Africa during
George Bush’s visit there last year. The press widely reported his
rocky reception due to the charge that G7 trade practices were
responsible for keeping millions of African farmers impoverished. Many
African economies, especially those of Mali, Burkina Faso, Chad and
Benin, depend on cotton for employment, exports and wealth creation.
These nations’ low-cost, high-quality outputs should be competitive.
However, many producers, mostly the small and labour-intensive ones,
are failing because US subsidies are helping to depress prices and
squeeze rivals out of markets. Bush offered Uganda a new aid package,
for which President Musevane gave thanks, adding that such aid would be
less necessary if African countries didn’t have to compete against
massive subsidies. I know from experience that Uganda is richly
fertile. You can almost throw a banana peel out a window and wake up
the next morning to a banana tree. Yet, Uganda struggles to sell its
products in Europe and North America, because rich G7 governments
subsidize similar industries in their own countries. To see some
practical ways you can work to see third-world debt cancelled, or to
lobby against unfair trade practices, go to www.christian-aid.org.uk.
If fighting third world debt or working to change G7 economic policies
is too daunting, you might be more inclined to support third-world
entrepreneurial projects. I know of one missionary who radically
changed the lives of women with a machine that makes peanut butter sold
under the brand name W.O.W. (Women of Worth). Working for themselves
provides those women a viable income and fosters dignity. In developing
countries, a small amount of money can accomplish a thousand times what
the same amount would do here in Canada. A goat or a sewing machine can
literally provide a liveable income for a family; and a peanut grinder
can serve as the basis for a small business that supports several
families.
You can also give of yourself. You can go on a short-term or life-long
mission trip. You can volunteer at a crisis centre, or a mission, or
move to a depressed urban centre. Giving of our very selves can be more
demanding than giving money. The life of the woman in Proverbs 31 is
typical of many of us; she gets up early, goes to bed late, and works
hard in between. But busy as she is, “She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy” (Proverbs 31:20). As busy as she
is, she makes time to give herself away.
What does compassion for the poor have to do with worship? For many
Canadian Christians, there is no connection at all. For God, they are
inseparable. “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongues but
with actions” (1 John 3:18).