Hope

First Week of Advent
Thursday December 5, 2013

 Read: Psalms 72:1-7

 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son.
 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy,
   and crush the oppressor.—Psalm 72:1-4  

Over my career in public welfare, one phrase was particularly galling to me: the deserving poor. I do understand what people are trying to describe with this term. The deserving poor are “good” people; probably poor but work or are “genuinely” disabled and unable to work; are pleasant and polite to be around; dress appropriately for their economic status; and do not make waves. No one deserves to be poor. The truth is that all people are stamped with the image of God at creation. Some have a harder time realizing that than others.  We who realize it sometimes have a hard time living out the reality of what being made in the image of God really means. 

I worked as a waitress in high school and college. Wait staff are often paid below the minimum wage since they get tips to offset the difference. While I was working to help pay my way through college, some of my co-workers were the sole support of their family. For them, a bad day of tips most likely meant little food for dinner.  

Our call as God’s people regarding assuring that the poor have adequate income and resources is threaded throughout the Bible. In the book of Ruth, Boaz orders his servants to leave grain in the field for the poor to harvest in accordance with the law (Leviticus 23.22). The prophets were particularly outspoken about the treatment of the poor as was Jesus. 

Anyone who works deserves to make a living wage, enough income to provide the basic necessities of life. Please note, I did not say the minimum wage as it is well below the cost of living. Our culture defines the worth, thus the salary of a job, but not necessarily by the merits or importance of the job.  If the merits of the job were considered, pre-school teachers would not be making minimum wage. The cleaning staff would not be some of the lowest paid at hospitals. Culture will most likely always define the worth of jobs. Perhaps this is what Jesus meant when he said that the poor will always be with us.  It does not mean that our culture cannot set the baseline as a living wage.  

Prayer: Help us each reflect your love in all our dealings with the poor in spirit and in truth. Amen.

All scripture passages are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version.