Is it our responsibility to care for the poor?

I've decided to start blogging about my spicy opinions - you know, the ones I feel deep in my bones but people don't like to hear. The ones that get me in trouble and make people want to hide their latest new outfit from me? Yes, those are the ones. 

I'm doing it here because no one knows this blog exists. Maybe I'll tell people someday, but for today it's a place to get my thoughts out, idealistic or not, here they come. 

I feel like I need to start with a disclaimer: I'm not perfect. I don't know where to buy ethically made pickleball paddles or dish soap. I shop at Walmart for things I could probably buy more sustainably somewhere else. I go to Target when I'm in a pinch and my kid needs a tshirt for school and I do my job on an iPhone 13 pro. Oh and I like to go on vacation too.

My question today is do Christians have a responsibility to care for the poor, the vulnerable, the hurting and oppressed? If we know slaves make clothes and we just keep buying them is that OK? I'm talking big picture here, not the occasional panic purchase a couple times per year. I'm not trying to be hyper legalistic.

If we know that human trafficking exists and continue to heavily support industries that are knowingly adding to the massive issue is that wrong? If we know to do good and don't do it in this matter is it sin? If you are lost, that's taken directly from James 4:17.

I am going to go on the record and say yes, it is wrong. And yes, I'm talking to fellow Christians. I am a Christian and I think we've done a terrible job of caring for the most vulnerable people. I think non-Christians often do better than we do and that is devastating.

We say we love Jesus, we love people, but we fail to care for them the way we'd care for our own children. Why? We can come up with endless excuses, but at the end of the day I think it comes down to selfishness. 

As a culture, Americans are selfish. We think of our own convenience far more than anyone else's. Buying secondhand clothes is time consuming so we would rather go to the mall. 

What if we stopped and considered the garment workers who make most of the clothing in the world. They work in terrible conditions, don't make a living wage, have no benefits or access to the endless "rights" we have in the developed world.

We might care for a while if we see the pictures or remember the Rana plaza collapse, but as soon as we want to treat ourselves to something new we forget and put it out of our minds. If we don't see it first hand it's easy to forget.

Some may argue our responsibility as Christians is not to the physical needs of humanity, only the spiritual. Yet Jesus himself met people's physical and spiritual needs. Should we not do likewise? 

Is this too idealistic? Too overwhelming to think about? Maybe it should be. Maybe as Christians we need to feel uncomfortable for a while, sit in it and consider what in the world we are living for. 

If our lives are a vapor does any level of discomfort we feel on earth really matter? Maybe I've gone too far. 

My husband often tells me I go too far and can be one sided. He pulls me back to the middle and reminds me that it's also OK for me to have rest, enjoy some comforts of life here on earth, and still live on mission. He's probably right.

So what do we do? I say we start where we are today and take baby steps in the right direction. We learn, grow and change. We allow ourselves to be open to the cause and plight of the poor, hurting and broken all around us. We figure out how to fight for the vulnerable.

Instead of pretending that slavery doesn't exist, we take a deep dive into how the developed world is using labor from the undeveloped world to further the gap between rich and poor. We admit that there is a problem.

Then we do better in very practical ways - vote with your dollar. Support companies who are doing good work. Did you know there are plenty that are also sharing the Gospel? It doesn't have to be an either or situation. It can be both and. Go check out BYTAVI and Mercy House Global to start.

Pause. Take a step back from consumption. Don't buy anything you don't need for a month. Support a local restaurant, visit local thrift stores if you have to and just slow your consumption. You'll be amazed at how many impulse purchases you make without thinking about it. 

These are tips anyone can take, but honestly, I think Christians especially need to consider how they spend money and what they support with their dollar. Are we living on mission? Are we caring for the hurting and oppressed or just adding to their oppression? 

I warned you this is a spicy opinion very few want to hear about. I've been in the church my entire life. It's not a popular, feel good message. We'd rather go be superheroes and hand out our old clothes to poor kids than give up our Nikes. What if we told those kids about the love of Jesus, the hope of glory, sent them to school and watched their future trajectory completely change? What if that is really the call of the Gospel?