STANDING UP

JANUARY 16, 2023 

Today our friends in the US celebrate a holiday that is called Martin Luther King Jr. day. The legacy of Dr. King has had an impact in North America and around the world, even in our own City of Windsor, On. One of Dr. Kings, many visits to Windsor took place in 1963 on March 14, where he delivered a speech at the Cleary Auditorium which is now part of St. Clair College. Dr King it is said he was "enamored with Windsor’s relative racial harmony, the peaceful approach of its civil rights workers."

 

Proverbs 14:31

If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship.

Proverbs 19:17

When you give to the poor, it is like lending to the Lord, and the Lord will pay you back. ​


At the foundation of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Poor People’s Campaign was his desire to break chains of economic injustice that bound millions of people to a life of poverty. King appealed to the hearts of his listeners with this claim: “I choose to identify with the underprivileged. I choose to identify with the poor. I choose to give my life for the hungry. I choose to give my life for those who have been left out.”

Dr. King had the poor at heart, but the poor and needy have always been on God’s heart. Scripture is full of instruction about caring for the oppressed, orphans, widows, social outcasts—those often named among the poor. Talking about their needs is not enough. It requires action, even sacrifice. The age-old advice of King Lemuel’s mother—Speak up for people who cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless. Speak for them and be a righteous judge. Protect the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8–9), is still relevant

Scripture invites us not to “close our hearts” against those in need. If we do, we cannot claim to love God who call us to love others in deed and not word only (1 John 3:17–18). Loving others requires that we seek their welfare, even when this is challenging. Love enables us to push past inconvenience and choose a generous and charitable, course of action.

We participate in such actions knowing that “kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship” (Proverbs 14:31). Those who benefit from our generosity might not be able to repay us, but in giving to the poor we lend to the Lord, and he will reward us.

LET US PRAY

Father, from your hands we have received many blessings. For each we are grateful. Forgive us for the times we’ve turned a blind eye to those in need. Help us to love our neighbor as ourselves, seeking their welfare as eagerly as we seek our own.