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Testimony of ExperienceLast week (August 6, 2006) seems to have been my week to encounter beggars. It seemed that at every traffic light where I stopped, there were solicitors. At the intersection of Plough and Winchester there were three men working the same cross road. Each of them was homeless and postured with a sign asking for a donation from all directions except those traveling East. Then, when I went to the Memphis Baptist Ministerial Association on Tuesday, we were told that one of the ministers among us needed some assistance. Hence, everywhere I went, I saw people begging and asking for help. It did not matter if I was East, West, North, South, Downtown, Uptown, or Midtown, begging was everywhere. With all of this panhandling, even among the clergy, I thought of this scripture. How do contemporary conditions compare to this scriptural notation? Is it still relevant or indeed even true for today’s world? If indeed the answers to these questions are yes, then why are we seeing so much begging today? This even includes those who preach the words of the sacred scripture. Oddly enough, as all this begging is surfacing, it is at a time when many are preaching and teaching prosperity. The “prosperity gospel” is heard on radio; seen on television; and published in books. It seems that the more that is told about how to get rich, people seem to be getting poorer. Indeed, our text’s pronouncement in light of contemporary conditions seems puzzling. Is this text still valid for our era? Is it an universal timeless truth or was it limited to only one person’s parochial experience? Many, perhaps even most, interpreters believe that David penned our text near the end of his life. Indeed, Jewish culture in ancient days had economic safeguards built in its canon. For example, the law forbade charging interest on a loan to a fellow Jew. Furthermore, the year of Jubilee allowed people who were in dire straits to reclaim land and even people who had been pawned previously. While these safeguards may have been in place, there certainly was another side to life. Widows were most often left destitute. Unlike today’s Western, developed economies, there was no social security, Medicare, 401K’s IRAs, pensions, retirements, annuities, or other such benefits. Hence, if a widow or an orphan did not soon become attached to a new family, they faced bleak economic conditions. Despite these circumstances, the writer says that in all of his days, which have been many, he has not seen the righteous forsaken nor their children begging for food. The psalmist has not had the experience of seeing this principle contradicted. The larger context of the psalm espouses the sufficiency of God for believers. Even if a good person should fall, that person is not ultimately doomed. God is the WayMaker and capable source of help for those who may encounter momentary hardship. At such times the message is that we must remember God is still able. Clearly the scripture is an appeal to faith. The believer is encouraged to look to God not only for one’s spiritual sustenance, but also for one’s material needs as well. God is a panacea for all of life’s needs. God gives life and it is God who sustains life. This maybe one clear distinction about the times in which we live and that of the Old Testament era. We have so many benefactors to which we look. So many are depending on the Democratic Party. Others are looking for a sympathetic president and Congress. Others believe that our salvation rests with the rulings handed down by a liberal Supreme Court. So many are trusting in governmental entitlement programs to give us food, clothing, and shelter. Still others, even some churches, think they will prosper because of the generosity of some philanthropist foundation. If it were not for the Eli Lily and Pew Foundations many churches and seminaries would have no benevolence ministries. It maybe that we are seeing so many beggars and panhandlers even among preachers because we have forsaken God for some other benefactor. So many have quit God’s plan for financing His Kingdom and have instead opted for cheap imitations. Rather, than bringing the tithe into the Lord’s storehouse that there may be meat in the storehouse, it is carried to the casino, whiskey store, crack house, and entertainment centers. Then instead of the storehouse responding to human need, we are feeding an agenda of greed. We build one building, but it is not enough after another congregation builds another more spacious. Since the Cold War and the end of the Arms race, Churches have instituted the facilities race. Every congregation is trying to outdo the other. Money is wasted in idolatrous and frivolous pursuits that only feed the egos of religious leaders. Meanwhile, Kingdom building is suffering. The ignorant remain untutored; the weak remain impotent; and the lost remain devoid of eternal truth that brings salvation. I believe the psalmist’s words are still applicable today. God never promised us our wants. He never promised to feed our greed. Yet, the Lord, the provider of all the earth will hear and answer prayer. He will open up the window of Heaven and rain manna down in a desert wilderness. He will enable women to take scraps and sew them together into quilts. He will enable a meal to be gained from plants that grow on their own like poke salad and water crest. God has put game in the forest for the hunter; fish in the sea for the fisherman, and berries and nuts on the bushes for the gatherers. So many are suffering today because they have forsaken God. They have gone about trying to establish their own way, but it’s not according to the way of God. So many people have taken God’s blessings and decided to live above it. They beg for their needs while they buy their wants. They have a three bedroom budget, but have bought a five bedroom house. They have a Volkswagen budget, but they drive a Mercedes. We need to get in line with God. Jesus has promised that when we put the Kingdom of Heaven and its righteousness first in our lives everything that we need will be added unto us. When we realize this, then we will be able to join in with the text and declare that in all our days we have never seen the righteous forsaken nor their children begging bread. |
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