I woke up early this morning thinking about the plight of the poor. A large population of the Christians in Malaysia live in the island of Borneo. How do these "brothers" of our rise above their current circumstances. I eagerly wanted to know what was God's view of the poor in spirit.
The longest recorded sermon preached by Jesus describes the traits He looks for in His followers. The Beatitudes, as this sermon is referred to, counts these followers blessed. These traits will challenge the way we live: poor in spirit, mourning, meekness, righteousness, mercy, pure in heart, peacemaker and persecuted.
Jesus started His sermon by saying, " Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.". The contrasting and clashing world values would be living with pride and personal independence. Humility is often found in the poor although not all of them. The poor and the poor in spirit are two different issues but there are some characteristics which are found in both.
Reflecting back to my own life I could see how God moulded me from the "poor" settings I was raised in. My parents and siblings accounted for 8 souls on this planet earth. We were brought up laboring off the land for our daily provision. Living in this big city, in a one bedroom government quarters, we were fortunate to live in a corner lot. In this plot of land there was space enough to rear chicks and ducklings. Their eggs were bartered for the provision we needed everyday. We planted tapioca and sweet potatoes and grew other vegetables as well. Fruit trees on this plot of land provided mangoes, jackfruits and jambus, in its season.
It was a simple but hard life and we toiled every waking hour of the day without any frills in life. The poor, I believe don't have a voice or "connection" and so it was with us. I received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior in my last year at school, the same year my dad retired from government service. I started working to help finance my two younger brothers through school so that they too could complete their Form 5 education.
This morning's devotional verse seemed to have taken over my life, at that point. The Word I meditated on today states, "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Rom 8:11 KJV). This "resurrection powered" transformation was gradual and I worked hard and peaked at my career in the late 1990s. This success was possible only because I had followed many of God's principles, especially tithing.
But in life I have heard of many more challenging and victorious stories then mine and these individuals have become very rich and are also in the Kingdom. So the question which I always ask myself is why are our "brothers" in Borneo still living in such poverty. I can see our struggle and I believe it is obeying His command, in the area of tithing.
For example, when I was earning RM1,000 it was "easy" to tithe RM100 but when I took out my EPF recently, and it is a reasonably large amount like RM100,000, could I tithe RM10,000? So the question really is how much do I receive as wealth and how do I classify it. Do I say this is my life savings or do I say everything belongs to God and thus don't even discuss gross or net earnings......I simply delight in giving.
Therefore if His resurrection power gives me the ability to make wealth then my very breath belongs to Him... is there anything more for me to discuss. He is able to take care of the birdsof the air and the grass of the field, so am I not more valuable to Him then those.... He will surely take care of me.
If we all did what the Book of Acts tells us to do, that is, take care of all who have need then our "brothers" don't have to worry. The "rich" who earns RM1,000,000 a month is wages will be happy to tithe RM100,000 per month and the Kingdom will be able to expand faster every year. A revival will spark off and the nation will be won for Jesus Christ.
As long as we are not living beyond our means, we should be happy and secure. I remembered the first car that I bought as a bank teller. It was a second hand Kadet which I purchased for cash, all of my RM6,000 savings! It is a liberating feeling to live within our means and needs. So if God specifically tells me He wants the balance of my savings that I have put away for a holiday, I must delight in giving it to Him for it is His in the first place.
Now, for our "brothers" in Borneo I proclaim, "Rise up, in Jesus name!"
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