Tag Archives: Edward Everett Hale

Understanding “You will always have the poor”

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“You will always have the poor among you . . .” – Mark 14:7

 

I think that if a verse of scripture is short enough to fit on a bumper sticker, it is most likely to be misunderstood.

 

Sometimes I have heard this verse interpreted to say that we shouldn’t be concerned about poverty. “Why bother? There are always so many poor people that it is a winless battle!” But is that really what Jesus was saying in this passage? Real understanding comes from examining the context.

 

So what was Jesus saying in this passage? The immediate context shows us that Jesus was defending a woman criticized of anointing him with expensive perfume that could otherwise have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus replies, “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them anytime you want. But you will not always have me.” His focus is on honoring her faith and worship of him, not of diminishing the importance of giving to the poor.

 

In the larger context of this passage, Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 15 which commands Israelites to cancel all debts every seven years. Some people harbored thoughts of contempt, not wishing aid the needy when all debts were about to be canceled. The writer says, “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.“ (v 11) He wasn’t saying be apathetic to their cause. Quite the opposite, he was commanding the people to give generously to their plight, particularly at an ‘inconvenient’ time when there would assuredly be no repayment.

 

In vs 4-5 of Deuteronomy 15 we are told, “there need be no poor people among you. . . if only you fully obey the Lord your God.” Did you catch that? Do you believe what God’s Word says…that if we all did our part, there would be no poor among you? Edward Everett Hale said it this way:

 

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

 

May our lives be living testimony that worship of the one true God compels us to obey His command to “be open-handed” to our fellow man, not just giving them a handout but rather a helping hand, in the same compassion that Jesus showed us.

 

 

I am only one, but I AM one

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In one series of my Spanish grammar lessons the characters say they were going to do one thing, but instead they decided to do something else. And I wondered how this resembles our everyday life. I mean, how many choices do we make in a given day? Why certainly, it must be hundreds. I was going to pay a compliment to the stranger, but in place of that I kept quiet. I was going to help hold the door, but instead I stepped back. I was going to visit someone in the hospital but instead I stayed home. I was going to spend time listening to God but instead watched the news. You get the idea. There are lots of choices everyday where we INTEND to do one thing but in the end we choose something else quite entirely.

Face it. We can’t do everything. (That’s not what Philippians 4:13 means.) But we can do some things. The quote to the right, incorrectly attributed here to Helen Keller, was actually first authored by Edward Everett Hale, 19th century clergyman and author:
“I am only one, but I am one.
I can’t do everything, but I can do something.
And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”

We all have choices, every day, lots of them. Let’s choose to do what we can to let light shine into darkness.

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. James 4:17

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

Note: To help my recovery along I am, at least temporarily, publishing blog posts Monday-Friday. May your weekends ones of quiet reflection and application of truths confirmed in your heart.

Do What Jesus Said: Feed the Hungry…

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Jesus said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Matthew 25:35-36

The context of this passage (verses 31-46) is Jesus, sitting on His throne, separating out people into two groups: 1) those who fed the hungry and quenched the thirsty, invited in strangers, clothed the naked, looked after the sick, and visited those in prison and 2) those didn’t. The reward for those in group one is eternal life but not for those in group two.

The interesting thing about this is not about good deeds per se. It is about loving Jesus. He says, “For I was hungry, I was thirsty.” The second group protested, saying “But WHEN did we see you hungry, thirsty, etc). Jesus replies, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ Jesus so loves us that He associates our pain and suffering with His own. We don’t simply minister to others because they have needs. But when we minister to others we minister to our Lord.

We realized this when we first started mission trips to post Katrina New Orleans. Confronted with miles and miles of destruction, the overwhelming immensity of the needs was immediately apparent. We had the same revelation working with the local church in Bolivia: so much desperate need and so little resources. But the objective was not simply to help people. The objective was to love those Jesus loves and so show it in practical ways.

Someone said, “Think globally, act locally.” The way I see it we must do both. Who do you know who needs practical encouragement (resources, time, compassion)? Perhaps they aren’t actually hungry or thirsty in the physical sense, but you know they are emotionally. Look at people through Jesus’ eyes and you will see a very different world than the one you have been looking at.

Are you partnering with a reputable nonprofit agency to minister to others in Jesus’ name across the globe? Go Light Your World supports a mission in Bolivia that provides a hot meal, showers, literacy programs, well child clinic, and worship and prayer for about $2 per day per person. And also literacy and self sufficiency education for Gypsy children in Bulgaria. (See Giving link above.) Compassion International and World Vision are two large nonprofits that rescue moms and children from trafficking and cycles of dependency and abuse. Prison Fellowship helps care for children and families of the incarcerated. We have so much to give and so many ways to let our light shine while doing what Jesus said. Don’t wait. Start today. Ask God to show you the world through His eyes.

“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything; but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.” Author, Edward Everett Hale