God's heart for the poor

I have always counted it a privilege to work with the poor and homeless but I never thought of it as work specifically blessed by God. However when you look at what the Scriptures say, it is true. (Proverbs 19:17, 21:13, 22:9, Isaiah 22:16 to name a few)

God has a specific concern for the poor; I always knew this and it motivated me to work in this population. But, I had never thought about the personal benefits of serving the poor. God assures us this work is blessed and we can be involved with a people of great concern to God and close to his heart.

Working at the medical clinic has given me a wonderful opportunity to observe firsthand lives changed by the grace of God and a chance to serve the poor with my nursing skills. However the greatest benefit I now realize: I can be involved with a work God considers vital and is completely blessed.

I have selected several quotes from Bono’s (yes, the lead singer of U2) speech at the National Day of Prayer Breakfast which apply to the poor in general and may help explain some of what I wrote.

"Look, whatever thoughts you have about God, who He is or if He exists, most will agree that if there is a God, He has a special place for the poor. In fact, the poor are where God lives. Check Judaism. Check Islam. Check pretty much anyone.

I mean, God may well be with us in our mansions on the hill… I hope so. He may well be with us as in all manner of controversial stuff… maybe, maybe not… But the one thing we can all agree, all faiths and ideologies, is that God is with the vulnerable and poor.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house… God is in the silence of a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives… God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war… God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them.

'If you remove the yolk from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom with become like midday and the Lord will continually guide you and satisfy your desire in scorched places'

It’s not a coincidence that in the Scriptures, poverty is mentioned more than 2,100 times. It’s not an accident. That’s a lot of air time, 2,100 mentions. [You know, the only time Christ is judgmental is on the subject of the poor.] ‘As you have done it unto the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me.’ (Matthew 25:40). As I say, good news to the poor.

.... A number of years ago, I met a wise man who changed my life. In countless ways, large and small, I was always seeking the Lord’s blessing. I was saying, you know, I have a new song, look after it… I have a family, please look after them… I have this crazy idea…

And this wise man said: ‘Stop.’

He said, ‘Stop asking God to bless what you’re doing. Get involved in what God is doing—because it’s already blessed.’

Well, God, as I said, is with the poor. That, I believe, is what God is doing. And that is what He’s calling us to do."

02.02.06 BONO'S REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST Entire speech if you are interested: http://www.data.org/archives/000774.php

-Kim Herr, RN staff, Water Street Medical Clinic