Homelessness

Homelessness has been politicized to the point, the church has gotten lost and has missed their responsibility to the poor. This episode speaks to the churches responsibility to the homeless and those in need. Homelessness is something no one wants to take responsibility for, not even those who find themselves there. The church has a responsibility, and in this episode we are going to take a look at what that responsibility is. The church has relied heavily on "get somebody else to it".

Transcript

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Hello, this is Bobby Simpson with another episode of Yup! It's in there! And today we're going to be covering homelessness. And homelessness by virtue of the uh title, uh, we're all clear on what that is. It uh generally typifies uh someone without a dwelling, a home to sleep in. You know, we generally see them sleeping under bridges, sleeping on cardboard, uh sleeping on events uh from the city, sitting on sewers, uh different things like that. That generally typifies homelessness. And so for a general definition or a specific definition, I won't go into that. But um what I will say is I can hear you asking me, Bobby, homelessness is in scripture, and my response, as it always is, is yup, it's in there. And so right now, what I want to do is I want to jump into, I have about three scriptures that I want to share with you just to give you perspective on uh what it is that God has to say concerning homelessness. And um, as uh I am reading these scriptures, what I'd like you to consider is um the language that you hear politically that generally goes uh in the direction of capitalism or socialism. And so generally, whenever there's an opportunity to help someone by way of a program that will help facilitate a better way of living for those who have been found homeless and without a dwelling, the different HUD programs, the subsidized housing. Um, when you consider things like that, when you consider the welfare system, that is oftentimes accused of being a socialist system. And I want to make sure that I give my listeners a perspective and an understanding on the language that we always hear, but may not necessarily be clear on. And so capitalism, on the other hand, it does very little uh to help those who have been found homeless and oftentimes puts corporations in a better position than it does the common man. And so on our episodes covering socialism and capitalism, we'll get into a little bit more concerning those particulars, but right now we're gonna jump into scripture and find out God's policy as it relates to homelessness. And our first scripture is coming out of Leviticus 25 and 35, and it reads, If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you. And nextly, uh we're gonna jump into Deuteronomy 15, verses 7 through 11. And um, I do want you to know that the translation uh that I'm reading from this is the New International Version, and if you see it abbreviated, it is abbreviated Capital N, capital I, capital V, N I D version. And so uh Deuteronomy 15, verse uh chapter 15, verse 7 reads, If anyone is poor among you, among your fellow Israelites in any of the towns of the land the Lord your God is giving to you, do not be hard hearted or tight fisted toward them. Rather be open handed and freely lend them whatever they need. Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought. The seventh year, the year for canceling debt is near, so that you do not show ill will toward the needy among your fellow Israelites and give them nothing. They may then appeal to the Lord against you, and you will be found guilty of sin. Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart. Then, because of this, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be people in the land, there excuse me, there will always be poor people in the land, therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. And so clearly, God has a position as it relates to the poor that are among you. And it sounds to me that he expects and that the standard is that we put in place a system that takes care of them and provides what they need. And so I am now gonna go to the New Testament. I hear a lot of uh religious rhetoric, um, a religious banter going on as you listen to the uh scriptures that I've chosen. I'm now gonna go to James chapter 2, verses 15 through 16, and it reads, Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, Go in peace, keep warm and well fed, but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? And so God has clearly taken a stand on how it is we are to deal with those who are without, those who are in need of shelter, those who are in need of whatever it is they need. You know, but for the sake of the conversation today, we are speaking to homelessness. And so this is another episode of Yup, it's in there. And this is Bobby Simpson. And we'll see you next time.