Sunday, April 2, 2023
CHRISTIANITY / SALVATION
Is taking care of the poor an important part of our salvation? Charles J. Chaput argues that it is.
From the book "Strangers in a Strange Land" by Charles J. Chaput:
In our own time we tend to distinguish between spiritual and material poverty. But in the Bible, these concepts are tightly linked! The rich have wealth, but they become overly proud and ignore or oppress others. They use their money to buy influence and exploit the needy. They forget their dependence on God. The poor man, by contrast, is always reminded of his dependence. He will be humble and trust in the Lord.
We see this clearly in Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man had elegant clothes and ate sumptuously. But he ignored Lazarus, who sat right at this gate, covered in sores that the dogs licked. Every time he entered or left his house the rich man would pass Lazarus, yet he did nothing to ease his needs. When the rich man died, he ended up in Hades. Now he suffered, while Lazarus sat in the bosom of Abraham.
The story underscores a simple fact: If we don't love the poor, we will go to hell. If we let our possessions blind us to our dependence on God, we will go to hell. If we let food and clothes and all the other distractions of modern life keep us from seeing the needs of our neighbors, we will go to hell.
We might assume that Scripture condemns the wealthy. But that's not the case. As the early Church Fathers noted, the Lazarus parable is really a tale of two rich men: an unnamed callous one, and the patriarch Abraham. Abraham was a rich man who never forgot his dependence on God. Whereas the wealthy sinner let Lazarus wallow in squalor, Abraham welcome the three strangers with rich food. Abraham was generous and shared his abundance, always remembering that everything he owned was a gift from God. The lesson is obvious: Possession is really about service. When it's not, we become slaves to our goods instead of living in a culture of interior freedom."
Strangers in a Strange Land
by Charles J. Chaput
published by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 978-1-250-15962-5 (trade paperback)
pg 170-171