Living in the Spirit
June 25, 2021
Scripture Reading:
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something— now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.’
Jesus did say the poor will always be with us* in a discussion about doing the right things in the right times. What Jesus did not say is true: the rich will always be with us, too. Variances of wealth have always existed. Thus, the terms “poor” and “rich” are relative to place, time, and economy. What we consider poor in the USA is wealth in countries where starvation is rampant. Paul argues that the issue is finding a fair balance between abundance and the needs of others,
As it is written,
‘The one who had much did not have too much,
and the one who had little did not have too little.’
If this quote sounds familiar, it is from the story of God providing Manna for the Israelites after they fled Egypt. Found in Exodus 16:18 reads:
But when they measured it with an omer, those who gathered much had nothing over, and those who gathered little had no shortage; they gathered as much as each of them needed.
I call that everyone having at least enough of the necessities of life. Paul calls it a fair balance. The USA economy is out of balance and even more out of proportion with many parts of the world. The Poor Peoples Campaign estimates that over 140 million people in the USA live in poverty or just one major setback like a health crisis or job loss from living in poverty**. Now is the right time to end poverty.
Prayer: Lord, help us find the right way to find a fair balance of incomes so that everyone can have enough. Amen.
*Mark 14:7
**For more information, see https://www.poorpeoplescampaign.org/resource/factsheets/
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.