A Poor Man's Contradiction

Scripture: However, there will be no poor among you, for the Lord will greatly bless you in the land which the Lord your God has given you for an inheritance to possess, if only you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God, by carefully observing all these commandments which I command you today. For the Lord your God will bless you, just as He promised you, and you will lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. You will reign over many nations, but they will not reign over you. If there be among you a poor man, one of your brothers within any of your gates in your land which the Lord your God has given you, you must not harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. But you shall open your hand wide to him and must surely lend him what is sufficient for his need, in that which he lacks. Deuteronomy 15:4-8

Observation: In his instructions about the sabbatical year every seven years, God states an apparent contradiction. He says "there will be no poor among you," and two sentences later says, "If there be among you a poor man". Why give instructions about how to support the poor immediately after stating there will not be any poor? There are two possible explanations for this:

1) The statement there would be no poor was contingent on obedience - "if only you carefully obey the voice of the Lord your God" - and God knew they would fail. Thus, he needed further instructions.

2) God's instructions were always about caring for the poor, and stating there would be no poor would have been more accurately worded as "if you follow my instructions about how to care for the poor, then they won't be poor for long."

Under either concept, the message from God is clear: God is going to bless Israel, and therefore as individuals and as a nation they will not be poor; if one individual goes through a tough time, others will have plenty enough to uplift them for a season.

Application: We were just talking about a related topic last weekend ... the obligation of caring for the poor, balanced with the determination of how best to aid the poor. In these instructions from God, there are a couple points to inform modern conversations. First, aid is given in the form of a loan. That implies conversation, obligation, and intent on the part of the recipient to recover from their situation. Second, loans are periodically forgiven. That implies that, as the giver, you might not get paid back from time to time, and that's okay.

I am hesitant about how to apply this to our lives today. We see the poor and homeless, and it is so dangerous to judge which are those who would seek to repay society by recovering, and which are making a choice to exit society through addiction of their choosing.

Prayer: Lord, I don't know what more to say about this, so I seek your guidance. You know my heart, and you know of our conversations. You know I have said it is best to care for the poor through trusted institutions than to hand money direct so that there can be a vetting process. This may align to this concept of a 'loan'. However, you are also clear about the generosity of the rich in caring for the poor, and clear about judgment. It is difficult to discern your direction in this matter. I ask for guidance. Please show us, my family and my region and my nation, how to best care for the least of those among us in a way that aids, uplifts, supports, recovers, and returns them to prosperity. And may all this be done in a manner that uplifts your holy name, and the name of Jesus. Amen.