‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy
groan, I will now rise up,’ says the Lord;‘I will place them in the safety for
which they long.’ Psalm 12:5.
And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong
about sin and righteousness and judgement. John 16:8
Being
poor is a relative thing for many of us, given the current economic climate
most of us will have made some changes to our lives as a result. The writer in
the Psalm is not thinking of folk who may be a little less affluent; they speak
of God’s attitude and promise to those who find themselves in great hardship
and struggling to cope with the basic things in life, food, warmth &
shelter. Folk may be tempted to put aside moral or spiritual matters if the basics
of survival are a challenge and so God’s Holy Spirit is at work in all of our
hearts trying to reveal new insight of the truth of God’s promise and love for
us; to support others and not condemn them, to raise folk up and not to judge
them, for the Spirit will convict each of us for our actions.
We
are challenged to look out for those less fortunate than ourselves, by doing so
we become God’s hands at work in the world, we must deny those attitudes that
blame the poor for their poverty and help to build a society that does not
marginalise the least influential of its citizens.
We
pray for those that have suffered injustice because they are poor and for other
reasons,
Lord you are
the defender of the poor and oppressed, we ask that you will deliver them from
oppression and lift them up for your glory, challenge us to care and to connect
with practical expressions of love.
Dan Joseph
Metropolitan
Church
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