Evangelical preference for the poor
Let us not worry about those who want for nothing, those who people think of, let us worry and be concerned about those who lack everything, those nobody thinks of. Let us be the friends of those who have no friends. (Letter to Louis Massignon, April 1916)
How do I behave towards someone whose physical appearance put me off?
What sort of interest do I take in people in need of others ... the elderly, sick people, those with no fiends or acquaintances?
Who does this refer to in our society?
Who are the little, the poor, the disenfranchised?
Who misses out on goodness merely because of who they are, what they look like, where they live, their ethnic background?
My immediate reaction as a teacher, and parent, is children. Although in the West at least, children have never been more materially wealthy, the reverse is that they have never been lonelier nor more rejected. Homes packed with everything but love. Foods of every description available, but more obese and under nourished children than ever. Educational opportunities only dreamed of a century ago, yet dissatisfaction and anti-social behaviour continue to grow.
Loving children as the poor, really listening to them as little ones through whom God can speak, requires my openness and readiness to become little myself. Their openness to themselves can speak to me, casting aside my adult mask and sophistication. To listen to children is to bring in the kingdom of God, the place where real love and communication can take place, where openness and transparency can begin.
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