The Lord’s Side

Hannah prayed: “The Lord makes some poor and others rich; he brings some down and lifts some up.  He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.  He sets them among princes, placing them in seats of honor.” – 1 Samuel 2:7-8a (NLT) 

We don’t usually like to think of God as having a “side.” We like to keep God carefully sequestered on a cloud of neutrality, high above the raucous fray of team rivalries and political contests. God’s ultimate neutrality is highlighted in the assertion that God causes the sun to shine and the rain to fall on the just as well as the unjust. 

Notwithstanding the above however, the God we read about in the Bible is deeply biased, always in favor of the poor. Always.   

It is the hand of God that lifts the poor from the garbage dump, and it is the providence of God that places the poor in seats of honor among princes.  

In every conflict of economic justice recorded in the Bible, God always stands with the have-nots. Israel’s bondage in Egypt was not just an affront to Israel’s human rights; it was also an affront to the divine sovereignty of their God, since it was God who created the Israelites for freedom. 

At his inaugural address given in his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus made it clear that his mission would focus on bringing good news to the poor, which meant bad news for those ensconced in the perks and paradigms of the status quo. 

And according to Jesus, the measure that will be used to judge the nations at the last day will be the measure of compassion for the poor. “I was hungry; did you feed me? I was naked; did you clothe me? I was in prison; did you come see about me?” 

Prayer
Lord, in every battle between the mighty and the marginalized, help us to choose your side. Amen.

About the Author
Kenneth L. Samuel is Pastor of Victory for the World Church, Decatur, Georgia.