Insult the poor at your own risk

“If you insult the poor, you insult God. The principle is that God personally identifies very closely with the widow, the orphan, and the immigrant, the most powerless and vulnerable members of society. When the Old Testament says God identifies with the poor that is a strong statement. But it still is basically a figure of speech. Not until you come to the New Testament can you fully grasp the degree to which God has done this.

“In Proverbs we see God identifying with the poor symbolically. But in the incarnation and death of Jesus we see God identifying with the poor and marginal literally.”— Generous Justice, page 185

<idle musing>
That's the end of the excerpts from Keller's book. I'm not sure what I'll be extracting from next. I'm currently reading at a very slow rate due to other things going on, but maybe I'll extract from A Severe Mercy...we'll see.
</idle musing>

The role of the strong

“The strong must disadvantage themselves for the weak, the majority for the minority, or the community frays and the fabric breaks.”— Generous Justice, page 180

<idle musing>
That's quite a prescription! But, the alternative looks pretty bleak, doesn't it? I once heard someone joke that of course the meek will inherit the earth—they will be the only ones left after everybody else destroys each other!
</idle musing>

And what color state are you from?

“...no current political framework can fully convey the comprehensive Biblical vision of justice, and Christians should never identify too closely with a particular political party or philosophy.

“Many churches have uncritically adopted a liberal political agenda, one that has a very expansive view of government. Others adopt a politically conservative approach to justice, one that insists that poverty, at least in America, is not the result of unjust laws, social structures, and racism, but only a matter of family breakdown. As we have seen, the Biblical material is too nuanced and balance to fit neatly into either of these schemas. And if we tie the Bible too tightly to any particular economic system or set of public policies, it bestows divine authority on that system.”— Generous Justice, pages 163-164

<idle musing>
If only we listened to such sage advice. I know I am guilty of reading in a certain direction—bet you can't guess which one :)

We have a high and holy calling that far transcends the current political climate. What's that old Anabaptist line? "In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity" is how it goes, I think. (I've heard it attributed to Wesley, but don't remember seeing it in anything of his that I've read.) Now, if only we could agree on what the essential are!
</idle musing>

Systemic evil

“Most of the time systemic evil is simpler and more subtle. Failing schools and inadequate police protection in poor neighborhoods is far more common. It is often the result of unjust neglect. Our political and economic systems do not listen to people without money and other forms of social power. The residents of poor communities do not have either the influence or the skills to attract more private and public resources to come into their community. They need help, but it can't come merely in the form of relief and development. Someone must resist and change the legal, political, and social systems.”— Generous Justice, pages 129-130

<idle musing>
Amen! Good preaching! No need for a conspiracy theory, just follow the money...no money, no power in this world's system.
</idle musing>

Serving...or controlling?

“It is difficult not to think of the elder brother in Jesus's parable of the prodigal son. The people God addresses, like the elder brother, complain that God is not doing their will, and that they deserve his support since they have been so obedient. But the truth is that their obedience is only formal and external; it is filled with self-righteousness and is motivated by a desire to control God, not actually serve him. Such people show they are complying with religious observances as a way of 'getting ahead' with God and others. This deadly spiritual condition shows itself in a lack of loving service toward others, and particularly an indifference to the poor.”— Generous Justice, pages 96-97

<idle musing>
This sounds like his book The Prodigal God, which I blogged through a while back. Still true today.
</idle musing>

Whose advantage?

“Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke concludes, after studying both the word mishpat and its kindred word tzadeqah (righteousness), that in the Old Testament

the righteous [tzaddiq]...are willing to disadvantage themselves to advantage the community; the wicked are willing to disadvantage the community to advantage themselves.”

— Generous Justice, page 90

<idle musing>
Wow! That is a heavy thought and a high calling. Am I willing to disadvantage myself for the advantage of the community? If I have the mind of Christ, I should be...
</idle musing>

It's all a gift

“...God gave humanity authority over the world's resources but not ownership. We have received what we have in the way a fund manager receives other people's money to invest, or as, in ancient times, the steward of an estate received his authority over the estate. The steward of a great estate lived comfortably and enjoyed the fruits of his labor, but he never made the mistake of thinking that the wealth under his care was all his. He was tasked to manage it in a way that pleased the owner and was fair to his fellow servants.

“This concept is counterintuitive for most Americans. We believe that if we have had success in life, it is mainly the result of our own hard work, and we therefore have an absolute right to use our money as we see fit. But while the Bible agrees industriousness or the lack of it is an irreplaceable part of why you are successful or not (Proverbs 6:9-11; 10:4), it is never the main reason...In short, all your resources are in the end the gift of God.”— Generous Justice, pages 88-89

<idle musing>
Amen! Good preaching! We are called to use our resources wisely—all of them—and for the furtherance of God's kingdom, not our own. Reminds me of a recent post with a quotation from Finney.

I wonder how Keller would feel if he knew I just tied him to Finney :)
</idle musing>

Knowing versus doing

“You could make a good argument that our problem in society today is not that people don't know they should share with others and help the poor. Most people do know and believe this. The real problem is that, while knowing it, they are insufficiently motivated to actually do it.”— Generous Justice, page 79

<idle musing>
Too true...it is easy to give assent to it and say a little prayer—and then go on with life as if that took care of everything. James says something about that:
"Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?"—James 2:15-16 TNIV
The Greek looks like this:
ἐὰν ἀδελφὸς ἢ ἀδελφὴ γυμνοὶ ὑπάρχωσιν καὶ λειπόμενοι τῆς ἐφημέρου τροφῆς εἴπῃ δέ τις αὐτοῖς ἐξ ὑμῶν· ὑπάγετε ἐν εἰρήνῃ, θερμαίνεσθε καὶ χορτάζεσθε, μὴ δῶτε δὲ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἐπιτήδεια τοῦ σώματος, τί τὸ ὄφελος;
</idle musing>

Vulnerable people

“One of the four vulnerable classes protected by the Hebrew prophets was that of the immigrant. While foreigners residing in Israel could convert, the injunction to provide them with shelter and guard their legal rights was not qualified by whether they had entered the covenant or not. That showed that Israel's justice and compassion was not to be confined to only its own believing community.”— Generous Justice, page 61

<idle musing>
I've been looking at 3 main words in the Hebrew Bible for immigrant/foreigner lately. Just so we're on the same page, the words are gēr (ֵגר), nokrī (ָנכִר), and tôšab (תֹוָשב) (not sure if the vowel points came through correctly...). I'm leaning towards translating ger as illegal immigrant, but not sure yet. TDOT calls them "protected citizens" which makes no sense to me at all.

On the other hand, nokri could well be the illegal immigrant...I need to look at the texts a bit closer. What do you think?
</idle musing>

The two sides of sin

“It is not just political parties that fail to reflect this 'whole cloth' Biblical agenda. The churches of America are often more controlled by the surrounding political culture than by the spirit of Jesus and the prophets. Conservative churches tend to concentrate on one set of sins, while liberal ones concentrate on another set. Jesus, like the Old Testament prophets, does not see two categories of morality. In Amos 2:7, we read, 'They trample the heads of the poor; father and son go in to the same girl.' The prophet condemns social injustice and sexual licentiousness in virtually the same breath (cf. Isaiah 5:8ff.). Such denunciations cut across all current conventional political agendas. The Biblical perspective sees sexual immorality and material selfishness as both flowing from self-centeredness rather than God-centeredness.”— Generous Justice, page 55

<idle musing>
Amen! Good preaching! I'm loving this book...
</idle musing>

The form of religion

“Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and Micah all leveled the charge that, while the people attended worship, observed all religious regulations, and took pride in their Biblical knowledge, nevertheless they took advantage of the weak and vulnerable. The prophets concluded that, therefore, their religious activity was not just insufficient, but deeply offensive to God.”— Generous Justice, pages 49-50

<idle musing>
Walk the walk, or don't talk the talk, in other words.
</idle musing>

God of the rich...and poor

“In the religions of the surrounding cultures, the gods identified particularly with the kings and others at the top of society It made sense—the rich could build the gods magnificent temples and give sumptuous offerings. Why wouldn't they be considered the favorites of the gods? But the Biblical God is not like that at all. He does not call everyone to bring sacrifices of the same kind and value, for that would have automatically make [sic] it easier for the rich to please God. Instead, God directs that each person should bring what they can, and if their heart is right, that will give them access to his grace.”— Generous Justice, page 40

<idle musing>
On the money. In the Odyssey, Odysseus repeatedly petitions Zeus and the gods to remember all the times he sacrificed to them. He basically bought his way home—granted that it took him 20 years—but in the end his do ut des mentality was justified. Not so the biblical God. If anything, the tables are turned with the poor having preferential treatment at his hands.

What does that say about the current economic system, built as it is on greed?
</idle musing>

Gleaning

“Why was it that landowners were not allowed to harvest out to the margins of their field? God did not want them to squeeze every cent of profit out of their land, and then think that by giving to charity they were doing all they could for general community welfare. The gleaning laws enabled the poor to be self-sufficient, not through getting a handout, but through their own work in the field.— Generous Justice, page 30

<idle musing>
That's good. Don't just drop the change in the offering bucket to assuage your conscience...
</idle musing>