Who are the poor among us?

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It is my belief He was speaking of the Spiritually poor, His lens to view the world focused on the whole person, not merely this temporal, earthly existence where we have always know it will end like the little plant in the coffee cup.
iu

blessings
 
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A cell phone is pretty much a necessity in today's world. There used to be phone booths and pay phones but those have gone extinct. It's nearly impossible to find a phone book even. You can survive without one, but it makes life extremely difficult and you certainly can't thrive.
 
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Poor in spirit are those who are humble.
AKA: Those not expecting to ever be rich, of equal class to middle class, the "rejects" of upper crust society.
 
blueluna5 said:
If the poor are homeless, it makes little difference now or then.

If they're poor I understand what you are saying. They get government help, free food, home, etc.

The thing about it is that they're still "poor" as it's not a lifestyle you would enjoy to live. The kids have video games bc it's easy to pack up and move with them. They never go outside bc they'll get beat up. The rape and abuse are through the roof. Drugs are everywhere. Families are split apart. They still need help. It's not always about just throwing money at someone.
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You are simply trying to sidestep the OP, that is clear from your choice of words.

I suspect you are more then smart enough to know the difference between modern American poverty and its depth compared the the poverty of the New Testament.

You do a disservice to the truly poor that exist in other parts of the world today by equating them to the "poor" of this nation.

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink.

You should really think about this.
 
JaumeJ said:
If a person seeks diligently enough, he will discover evil. However if he looks and sees with the heart, he will find the good.
I have always been aware of welfare cheats, but my heart tells me to pay my taxes with joy for at least some of it will go to help the truly needy. I do know, again by my own experience, that there are many who receive nothing much of the time.
I am very grateful for having received free milk in school as a child. This was because my teacher saw that I usually had no lunch, not a program per se, just something my particular school did. This was in the day when even the small milk came in small glass bottles, so you count the time back.
Stop seeking the evil and seek to see with the heart, I guarantee you will find good. Learn to over lookthe evil for our time to judge to damnation is not come

PS, we are addressing helping widows and orphans i their affliction, not the spiritually poor.
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The OP is not about "looking for evil or good", this is about the disservice of equating the modern American poor to the truly poor of the New Testament.

There are untold millions of truly poor people all around the world that meet the level of poverty during the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.

I spend just three days in Mexico City and was shocked by the grinding poverty there. I was ashamed that I assumed that poverty was universally about the same. I will never make that mistake again. The Mexican government does not in any way attempt to take care of their poor like we do here.

It is shameful to equate the poor of this country to the poor of the New Testament. Yet many have attempted to argue that point.
 
Locoponydirtman said:
You think those folks in Hawaii, who lost everything including their jobs due to fires created those cracks? We have no more conversation. Good riddance.
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You think those folks in Hawaii, who lost everything including their jobs due to fires will not be taken care of by FEMA???

Do you think that they will suffer from exposure or hunger?

These are serious questions, if you are from the United States you should be able to answer these questions.

Do you believe that the people in Hawaii will suffer like the poor of the time of Jesus?

Honest and fair questions. Will you answer them? Or will you side step?
 
physically unable, mentally unable or or oppressed in a way that very very few Americans are, like 0.001% are truly oppressed (that numbner is an estimation based on life experience and observation)

Not unwilling
 
SpeakTruth101 said:
physically unable, mentally unable or or oppressed in a way that very very few Americans are, like 0.001% are truly oppressed (that numbner is an estimation based on life experience and observation)

Not unwilling
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So to be clear.

You believe that the poor who are either physically or mentally challenged can be equated to the poor of the New Testament?

Am I correct?
 
Lamar said:
It is shameful to equate the poor of this country to the poor of the New Testament.
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I think the poor in the U.S. (and also in other countries generally) have it worse than the poor in the New Testament. The poor in the U.S. live in dangerous unsafe neighborhoods with drugs, crime, bad neighbors, etc. especially in urban and suburban areas. I don't think Biblical era time faced this level of crime. Basically everyone was religious and tried to follow rules/laws. So just having food and shelter isn't really enough, living in a safe neighborhood is also important.
 
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Lamar said:
You do a disservice to the truly poor that exist in other parts of the world today by equating them to the "poor" of this nation.
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I don't think we have to compare ourselves to the poorest of the poorest in the world. We just have to look at our poor. Jesus was talking about the poor in Israel. I am sure the poor in Israel were still better off than the poor in other places at that time, like maybe Africa. It is also important to remember that most people are only one or two paychecks away from being poor and homeless, even during those times.
 
What I consider poor is living on a very fixed income (or no income) and where a person has trouble affording essentials (food, medicine, home bills like electricity, etc.).
 
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Lamar said:
You think those folks in Hawaii, who lost everything including their jobs due to fires will not be taken care of by FEMA???
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Fema help is a joke. I have witnessed first hand their "help".

Lamar said:
Do you think that they will suffer from exposure or hunger?
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They are presently

Lamar said:
Do you believe that the people in Hawaii will suffer like the poor of the time of Jesus?
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Yes.
Along with many others in the USA.


MsMediator said:
don't think we have to compare ourselves to the poorest of the poorest in the world. We just have to look at our poor. Jesus was talking about the poor in Israel. I am sure the poor in Israel were still better off than the poor in other places at that time, like maybe Africa. It is also important to remember that most people are only one or two paychecks away from being poor and homeless, even during those times.
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This is absolutley correct.
In america we have working people who struggle to get by with bare necessity. People on the edge of homelessness or are one tragedy away from disaster.
The op of this thread is living in some middle class delusion and has failes to see the exploitation of crony capitalism, and the disasterous effects of the wreckage of our economy.
In the early 90s a modest home could be purchased for $60,000 that same house today would be over $200,000. A basic used car to drive to work could be bought for $1000 but today a used car costs $10, 000. Groceries for a family is close to $300 per week and rent is $1200 per month. Having a stay at home wife and mom is nearly impossible for the average working class. The average cost of living for a family far exceeds a single persons average income.
 
MsMediator said:
I think the poor in the U.S. (and also in other countries generally) have it worse than the poor in the New Testament. The poor in the U.S. live in dangerous unsafe neighborhoods with drugs, crime, bad neighbors, etc. especially in urban and suburban areas. I don't think Biblical era time faced this level of crime. Basically everyone was religious and tried to follow rules/laws. So just having food and shelter isn't really enough, living in a safe neighborhood is also important.
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When the average income for an american is about $54,000 per year and the average cost of living for a family of 4 is about $85,000 per year its not hard to see that we are in an economic crisis. An average family is about one disaster from ruin. These people cant even get help. Along with the crime issues that you mentioned, America is in trouble.
 
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Lamar said:
So to be clear.

You believe that the poor who are either physically or mentally challenged can be equated to the poor of the New Testament?

Am I correct?
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I thought the conversation was about poor in America.

If you read the history of that time and the Dead Sea Scrolls it becomes clear they are talking about a certian group and not just those without money or goods.
 
SpeakTruth101 said:
I thought the conversation was about poor in America.

If you read the history of that time and the Dead Sea Scrolls it becomes clear they are talking about a certian group and not just those without money or goods.
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Here is the original post:

Who are the poor among us?

Are those labeled poor by modern American standards the same as the poor spoken of in the Bible?

"If you read the history of that time and the Dead Sea Scrolls it becomes clear they are talking about a certian group and not just those without money or goods."

Who are the "they" in your sentence?
 
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