I know what am I about to write may come as a shock to some while simultaneously surprising others, but despite the call on my life to preach and teach the Gospel while serving the people of God, I, absolutely and with no uncertainty, am a human being. A regular person with all of the finite trappings that come with being a fleshly creation. Rest assured, “Reverend” is not my first name and while I love Jesus deeply, there are somethings that absolutely get on my nerves. Some of these are of the awkward, idiosyncratic variety (like when people apologize but don’t say what it is that they are apologizing for or people who eat chicken wings but leave meat on the bone when they throw them away), while others are a bit more common and categoric (blowing your horn at me while driving, misspelling words in your comments online, sugar free chocolate, etc). For those who believe in the power of prayer, please continue to keep me lifted because there are some things that just flat out bother me.
One of the things that most irks me, particularly as of late, is the disrespect & disregard that is given to those who find themselves in the midst of struggle by those who are not. It is an incessant irritant to me when I discern that somehow the poor, the marginalized & the disenfranchised are labeled (and treated) as unimportant; viewed as unequal to their human counterparts. Deeper, what I find to be the most problematic about this is not necessarily the disregard, but rather where the disregard comes from. It is the case that often this mistreatment comes from those who are slightly more privileged than whom they are judging. From people who, in truth, are just one missed check away…or one wrong conviction away….or one bad diagnosis away…from being in the same place. My expectation is not (nor has it ever been) for the empire to have empathy for those whom they abuse in order to maintain their place atop the structure. This annoyance of mine is not necessarily provoked by the government ignoring the underprivileged. My peeve is most provoked when I see those who profess to be Christian operate in demonic disrespect for those in need.
We are in a moment where the way in which some believers in Jesus attempt to operate in service to others is potentially doing more harm than good. The ‘harm’ is not visible but the effects are definitely vitriolic.
In the name of ‘help’, much of the work being done on the behalf of those who stand in the need of assistance further cements them into the places that they are in. How can one experience the liberation of the Gospel when they are being served in a way that keeps them in the places God has called them out of? It is indeed good to feed those who are hungry but what good is the food we give them if they can’t afford electricity for the refrigerator? It is good to clothe the naked but what good are the clothes we give them if they reinforce certain stereotypes about the person being clothed? Does that truly count as help? Does that truly count as compassion?
Many of us, many of our ministries, offer our scraps to those in need & then expect them to be satisfied with the scraps because they didn’t have any scraps before we gave them ours. This marginal type of ministry is insulting to those whom we are called to serve in that it passively confirms the low expectations we have of them. In order to best serve those whom Jesus places priority upon, we must reconsider what it means to bless those in need. There are those in our ranks (and in our republic) who have made community service a matter of status, doing relatively little for others to make themselves look good. It is the most sinful type of status that is attained by exploiting the plight of others. The food pantries and clothing drives may give our parishes a relevant impression in the marketplace, but if what we choose to do reinforces a substandard existence and relegates our brothers & sisters to being part of a permanent underclass, then (with the best of intention) we are doing the work of the structures that have been set against us.
The 14th chapter of Luke shows us Jesus speaking to a high religious leader who had invited Jesus into his home. The conversation centers around the appropriate time to do the work of healing (to do so on the Sabbath or not). in the 12th verse, Jesus elevates the conversation with a parable speaking to value we place on certain people while devaluing others. Jesus says in verse 13, “…when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind”. Jesus is saying that we should equitable in our endeavors; focusing on not just offering service, but respecting the ‘least of these’ enough to elevate our level of service.
I, and many of those who would read this, are where we are today because someone loved us enough to bless us past the comforts of convenient contribution. We all have had someone in our lives who believed in us when we didn’t look like the greatness locked inside of us. The love we experienced emancipated us & propelled us into our best selves. We children of the cross are are duty bound to love our less fortunate neighbors the same way.
We may not be able to do everything for someone in need but I, respectfully, would presume that we can do more than what we have been doing. I pray that we are challenged & convicted by Jesus Christ’s words on the matter “as you have done to the least of these, you also have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40).
It gets on my nerves to meet people who are unwilling to treat as they have been treated & bless as they have been blessed. This sanctified selfishness ultimately misrepresents our Messiah. It paints Jesus as an oppressor instead of a liberator. In the name of obedience to Jesus (and in order to preserve my sanity), the church, as both organism and organization, must change our orientation to those who operate on the margins of prosperity. We must be willing to serve in a way that not only addresses someone’s ‘present’, but also best positions someone for their future. We who believe must be willing to expand, extend & elevate our love for the least of these.
