)
"You will always have the poor"
You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me. (John 12:8, NIV)
(Context John
12:1-11)
Have you wondered why God allows hunger? Maybe you've
contemplated how humanity should use the world's resources to
eliminate world hunger. Satan tempted
Jesus to use His power to eliminate hunger. Although Jesus
resisted the temptation to turn the stones into bread, later after He
feed the 5,000, the people wanted Jesus to
use His power to keep them fed.
It's easy to concentrate only on physical needs. Advancing science and technology increases our ability to meet people's physical needs. But, science and technology don't tell us how or when to use it's capabilities. With increased ability to do good comes the increased ability to do evil. Scientific advances can even cloud our ability to discern good from evil. Genetic engineering and cloning are two examples. Past progress in agriculture, transportation, energy, and housing has impacted the environmental. With efforts exclusively on technology to meet humanity's physical needs, we miss out on the true purpose of life.
The temptation to concentrate on physical needs tells
us to depend on government to feed people. Large governments seem
more capable of feeding the poor than an individual. When government
meets needs, we don't have to empathize with hurting people. However,
depending on government takes away from people learning to give
willingly out of compassion. The other side of the issue is people
depending on welfare and food stamps look to government rather than
God for their daily bread. In the same way, our
affluence tempts us to forget where our resources really come,
and our government programs tempt us to forget helping our neighbor.
Obsession with the physical world's concerns leads
us to value the wrong things.
The physical world is temporary. Learning
to let go of fleeting time, wealth, and personal concerns in exchange
for concern for other people
is more
important than the helpful actions.
Friendship is more important than what friends share because they're
friends. God conforming
us to the image of Christ
is our most valuable treasure.
©2001 Perry Vernon Webb. You may quote this page in part
or the whole as long as you
1) do not alter the
wording and
2) reference this Internet page as the
source of the quote.
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