One

 There isn’t a gospel for the rich and one for the poor. There isn’t a gospel for those with disposable income and those living paycheck to paycheck. There is only one gospel, and it encompasses everyone.

It will never be about how much you have. Some people can have the world and still feel as though they don’t have enough, and others have barely two pennies to rub together, and they will seem like the most generous people ever to walk the earth. Our family didn’t have much growing up, but you could always get a meal at our table, even if mom and grandma just added water and Vegeta to the soup pot.

For the uninitiated, no, I wasn’t typing in tongues. For anyone with a tangential knowledge of Eastern Europe, especially Romania, Hungary, Bosnia, Croatia, Poland, or Ukraine, you know what I mean when I say Vegeta. It was the magic ingredient every European grandma had close at hand, consisting of some salts, flavor enhancers, dehydrated vegetables, and spices. If it says no MSG, you already know it’s not going to be good, so they never put that on their packaging. It’s refreshing to have a company understand what it is and who its customers are and not shy away from it. Who’s got time to worry about MSG once you’ve watched the Chernobyl cloud passing overhead from your front porch?

It may not have adhered to the food pyramid, but there was always something to eat in our home. It wasn’t because we were living in abundance but because my parents’ hearts knew no other way of being than charitable and hospitable. As far as the food pyramid goes, allow me my skepticism on that front. It may just be the circles I run in, but that pyramid hasn’t done anything to improve people’s waistlines over the last few decades.

It’s easy for the root of bitterness to get out of control if our reaction to anyone doing something selfless and kind is, “Of course they did; they can afford it.” You may not be able to build a hospital wing, but you can afford to give a glass of water to someone thirsty. You may not be able to feed a thousand homeless, but you can share a pizza with someone who is hungry.  

Would you rather be the homeless person under the bridge waiting to receive a meal or the person bringing a meal to the homeless person living under the bridge? Whenever I read the passage about giving being better than receiving, I always put it in that context.

If you are blessed enough to help another human being, then help them. If you were in their position, you would pray that someone had the heart to help you. I know people who are generous because it is their nature to be so. It’s not because they have more money than they can count but because when they budget the money they do have, they always make an allowance for those who have less than them.

The truth of it is that there are generous rich people, and there are stingy poor people. It’s not about how much is in the bank account; it’s about what’s in your heart and how you perceive this life. If your entire vision is the here and now, you will strive to accumulate as much as you can, only to have your wife, kids, or grandkids give it away or sell it for pennies on the dollar once you’re gone.

If, however, your vision extends beyond this present life, if eternity is a reality for you, then you will act in accordance with the knowledge that everything you do reflects upon the One you serve, and one day He will recompense you for all that you do in His name.

“Well, it took him a minute, but there he goes jumping on the bandwagon. In no time, he’ll be talking about planting jalapeno seeds.”

No, I won’t because God’s not running a Ponzi scheme where you put in a dollar to get back two or two hundred. That He expects His servants not to turn their backs on the needs of the widow and orphan, however, is Biblical, and it shouldn’t be something we should shy away from discussing.

God’s concern is the condition of my heart and if it is sensitive to His urging. His concern is that I do not harden my heart toward the needs of others but do unto them as I would have them do unto me.

There is a difference between compassion and acceptance, validation, or celebration. I can feel compassion for an individual’s lot in life without validating or agreeing with their life choices or the things they did to bring them to where they are.

If your concern is that they would use the money you give them in a self-destructive manner, buy them a meal with the money and hand it to them. Do good. Be light. Represent the King in the best way you can because the world is just looking for an excuse to demean Him.

There are enough people roaming about doing their worst to cast a shadow on those of the Way; don’t be one of them. Do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your Lord. All will be held to account, and none will escape His omniscience. All will be known; all will be revealed, and all will be recompensed.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.