Aid for the Poor

BY comparison to the many modern Christians who live in affluence, the Corinthian believers would appear poor. Yet Paul described the Christians of Macedonia as living in “deep poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:2), so they were much poorer even than the Corinthians. What does Scripture mean, then, when it says that God “has given to the poor” (2 Corinthians 9:9)? And what does that mean for believers today who are relatively affluent?

The word for poor (2 Corinthians 8:9) described someone who toiled for a living, what we would call a day laborer. Such persons were distinct from the truly destitute. The former may have had a difficult life, but at least they were in no danger of losing it. By contrast, the truly poor were in immediate danger of perishing if they didn’t receive charitable aid.

Paul described God as dispersing to the poor, the day laborers, not food for survival but seed that they could sow to raise a crop (2 Corinthians 8:9-10). He indicated that God would aid the Corinthians so that they, in turn, could aid the completely destitute believers in Jerusalem.

So what does that mean for us as Christians today if we work at relatively stable, well-paid jobs, own our own homes, and manage to salt away at least some money for retirement? Paul would doubtless identify us as rich. We may work hard, but we have disposable income that most first-century Christians could have only imagined.

Courtesy of Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.