March 13

Psalm 72
The rate of people in Stillwater living in what the government defines as poverty is around 24%. The state average is around 14%. A year and two months ago, a homeless man in our small city died in his sleep under a bridge in sub-freezing weather. For a little while there was a great uproar in our community concerning doing something to help solve the problem of poverty, and homelessness in particular, in our community. At the meetings which I attended, it seemed that there were as many proposed solutions as there were people present. Yesterday I was talking with a man who was a friend of the homeless man who died. He said, that the man had resources that could have prevented him from being homeless, but he would rather sleep under a bridge than use them. My own cousin has mental health issues that result in his living a lifestyle that is very unconventional and most would call ‘homeless.’ At one time he was receiving $1300 a month in SSI (and I think he still is). In his community $1300/month is more than enough for a single male with no children to make ends meet. I feel heartless, but if that is the way he chooses to live, why should I be compelled to give him more support?
I have done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that frequently their plight is often times mostly their own doing. They made bad decisions that spiraled into poor circumstances that resulted in more bad decisions. I also have done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that frequently the trigger that led to their plight was not of their own doing. Some sort of illness, accident or injury, often precipitates it. I have also done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that a few of them, if given the proper assistance, will rise up out of their extreme poverty and come to the point that they no longer need assistance. I have also done enough work among the poor in the USA to know that some of the issues that the poor must contend with are issues of justice which were meant to motivate the poor to better themselves, but they actually have the reverse effect. Right now it is difficult at best to have a government that ministers to the poor with justice. Most of governmental efforts in the USA over the last five decades have only resulted in an increase in the percentage of poor people living in our country. The Great Society has become an impoverished society, and the governmental coffers seem to be going broke. The war on poverty seems to have become a war on the poor.
Solomon prays that the Lord will give the king’s son wisdom to rule in justice. Eventually, the Psalm looks beyond the earthly king to the Messianic King, the Lord Jesus. When He comes in His power, He will bring justice to the poor. He will bring healing to their lives so that they can live their lives in honor of Him. The result of His giving justice to the poor is that more honor and wealth are given to His name. Somehow He will rule in such a way that the poor will have what they need in order to meet their needs. He will also rule in such a way that the poor will make the right decisions so that they will no longer spiral into deeper poverty. That is something that our governments and economic systems today cannot provide. That is what makes His glory so glorious! Indeed we serve a glorious King! Speak His glory to someone today!
--Pastor John