Thoughts on the poor

For my disclaimer on this series, see here

“So what is the difference between someone who willfully indulges in sexual pleasures while ignoring the Bible on moral purity and someone who willfully indulges in the selfish pursuit of more and more material possessions while ignoring the Bible on caring for the poor? The difference is that one involves a social taboo in the church and the other involves the social norm in the church.”— Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, page 111

and

“Regardless of what we say or sing or study on Sunday morning, rich people who neglect the poor are not the people of God.”— Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, page 115

<idle musing>
Harsh words, but very true. I sometimes think that people took Luther too literally and have knocked the book of James out of their Bibles:

Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,”a you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.—James 2:6-9 TNIV

But, that still doesn't explain why they ignore Paul's warnings. Maybe it is just selfishness and an unwillingness to die to it? Nah, can't be that! That sounds too, well, biblical!
</idle musing>