[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 02/Feb/2025]
One thing I have never been able to understand is why people tend to be rated according to their wealth. You see it in playgrounds where children with the latest phone or designer clothes are respected and those without these things are bullied. Adults want to be seen driving an expensive car, wearing the latest fashions or showing off their lovely homes. Those in poverty are made to feel ashamed if they have to ask for help and are too often blamed for their situation.
I have never seen poverty as a cause for shame, perhaps because my own grandparents, who had professional qualifications, chose a life of poverty as missionaries in India. When I adopted my sons, I very happily left my job as a pensions actuary and lived on benefits for 6 years before going back to work part time.
During this time my sons were invited to a friend’s birthday party. The family had a huge house and garden and threw a lavish party, with a hired bouncy castle and professional entertainer. A few months later I invited this child to my son’s birthday party, consisting of a few party games and tea at my little house. Far from turning up her nose at this modest party, the mother was delighted her son had been invited, especially as we played his favourite game: the hokey-cokey. I think having sons with the same disability proved a great leveller, showing how trivial wealth was by comparison.
In the Bible, it is not poverty but wealth, which is seen as a cause for shame, especially if that wealth was obtained through immoral means, like exploiting workers or evading taxes. The parable of the rich fool in Luke 12 shows that even those who have obtained their wealth through honest work will have to answer to God if they keep their wealth for themselves.
James, the brother of Jesus wrote:
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?
James 2 v5 [NIVUK]
Proverbs 17 v5 says: “Whoever mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker.”
Why should anyone feel shame over their poverty when the greatest man who ever lived had no possessions apart from the clothes he was wearing?
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Last Sunday’s reflection: Far Better Things Ahead by Martin Shorey
Contributed by Helen Ruffhead; © Helen Ruffhead