Many people generally think that a poor person could not be materialistic, greedy and prepared to commit all kinds of evil in the quest to satisfy their desires for earthly comfort. Nothing could be further from the truth. A poor person can be as mammonised as a rich person. Both can be equally mammonised, let's get that fair and square.
It is all too easy to feel sympathy for the poor, just because they are poor. This is exactly why the Bible has to tell us to not show partiality the poor:
Do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit (Exodus 23:3).
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly (Leviticus 19:15)
Feeling sympathy for the poor because they are poor is not righteousness or kindness at all. It is partiality. Such sympathy is humanistic sympathy, sympathy of the flesh, because it sympathises with the poor because it is thinking of how one's own earthly security might be affected should be in such a situation. It seeks to justify oneself in thinking oneself entitled to seek for oneself one's own earthly security, instead of trusting in God as Jesus commanded (Matthew 6:24-34). It is selfish sympathy as it is ultimately concerned with how one's own earthly security might be affected, advocating on behalf of those who are poor so that it can justify its own earthliness and anxiety to have one's earthly needs met, which is itself a sin.
Being a respecter of persons which is a sin because God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11; Acts 10:34), includes being a respecter of the poor out of fleshly sympathy towards them, to be a respecter of poor person to justify one's own earthliness, which manifests in concern about whether one has a lack of earthly needs being met, leading one to be respecter of a poor persons.
This is in no way saying that one should be a respecter of rich persons. By no means! That this must be said is itself an indictment to many in the modern Church, who think that saying that one should not be partial towards the poor is to claim that one should support and side with the rich.
Many people are able to accept that one should not be a respecter of the rich, but yet unable to accept that one should not be a respecter of the poor. This includes many in the modern western Church. Why? It is because many, including many in the modern Church in the west think that they themselves are poor because they think they are entitled to more earthly wealth, out of their envy because of their anxiety to have one's earthly needs met.
The very ability to accept that one should not be a respecter of the rich, but yet at the same time be unable to accept the one should not be a respecter of the poor is itself to not only be a respecter of the poor. It is the ultimate manifestation of envy itself. Such manifestation of envy may masquerade in the most subtle of ways, one of which being that one has a strong belief in those who are rich must share with the poor, and that if the rich does not share their wealth with the poor, they are unrighteous and greedy.
Indeed, such is the subtle false guise of generosity espoused by many Christians in the west who demand that they should be sharing 'their' wealth, as it it was 'their' wealth.This is indeed the spirit behind socialism and communism, and also professing Christian charities which not encourage, but demand on behalf of the poor that people share their wealth with the poor, in the spirit of entitlement, based on the false idea that the people, and in this case, the poor, are 'entitled' to wealth, or anything for that matter. The spirit behind such partiality for the poor is the spirit of mammon.
Sympathy for the poor for having a lack of earthly material possessions is itself to be a respecter of persons, to be partial towards the poor. It is manifestation of one's own envy because such sympathy is self-centred, faithless and a manifestation of anxiety for one's earthly needs to be met. It is fleshly sympathy which is seeking to advocate for oneself, through advocating the poor, being concerned with one's own lack of earthly security.
It is all too easy to feel sympathy for the poor, just because they are poor. This is exactly why the Bible has to tell us to not show partiality the poor:
Do not show favoritism to a poor person in a lawsuit (Exodus 23:3).
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly (Leviticus 19:15)
Feeling sympathy for the poor because they are poor is not righteousness or kindness at all. It is partiality. Such sympathy is humanistic sympathy, sympathy of the flesh, because it sympathises with the poor because it is thinking of how one's own earthly security might be affected should be in such a situation. It seeks to justify oneself in thinking oneself entitled to seek for oneself one's own earthly security, instead of trusting in God as Jesus commanded (Matthew 6:24-34). It is selfish sympathy as it is ultimately concerned with how one's own earthly security might be affected, advocating on behalf of those who are poor so that it can justify its own earthliness and anxiety to have one's earthly needs met, which is itself a sin.
Being a respecter of persons which is a sin because God is not a respecter of persons (Romans 2:11; Acts 10:34), includes being a respecter of the poor out of fleshly sympathy towards them, to be a respecter of poor person to justify one's own earthliness, which manifests in concern about whether one has a lack of earthly needs being met, leading one to be respecter of a poor persons.
This is in no way saying that one should be a respecter of rich persons. By no means! That this must be said is itself an indictment to many in the modern Church, who think that saying that one should not be partial towards the poor is to claim that one should support and side with the rich.
Many people are able to accept that one should not be a respecter of the rich, but yet unable to accept that one should not be a respecter of the poor. This includes many in the modern western Church. Why? It is because many, including many in the modern Church in the west think that they themselves are poor because they think they are entitled to more earthly wealth, out of their envy because of their anxiety to have one's earthly needs met.
The very ability to accept that one should not be a respecter of the rich, but yet at the same time be unable to accept the one should not be a respecter of the poor is itself to not only be a respecter of the poor. It is the ultimate manifestation of envy itself. Such manifestation of envy may masquerade in the most subtle of ways, one of which being that one has a strong belief in those who are rich must share with the poor, and that if the rich does not share their wealth with the poor, they are unrighteous and greedy.
Indeed, such is the subtle false guise of generosity espoused by many Christians in the west who demand that they should be sharing 'their' wealth, as it it was 'their' wealth.This is indeed the spirit behind socialism and communism, and also professing Christian charities which not encourage, but demand on behalf of the poor that people share their wealth with the poor, in the spirit of entitlement, based on the false idea that the people, and in this case, the poor, are 'entitled' to wealth, or anything for that matter. The spirit behind such partiality for the poor is the spirit of mammon.
Sympathy for the poor for having a lack of earthly material possessions is itself to be a respecter of persons, to be partial towards the poor. It is manifestation of one's own envy because such sympathy is self-centred, faithless and a manifestation of anxiety for one's earthly needs to be met. It is fleshly sympathy which is seeking to advocate for oneself, through advocating the poor, being concerned with one's own lack of earthly security.
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