Tuesday, October 14

THE CLASS SYSTEM

The heart of the message of the Gospel is that no matter what station in life we come from, ie. whether rich or poor, slave or free, have an education or not, no matter what race, or colour, we can all enter the Kingdom of God.

I have recently come to realise that while this may be true, there is a strong class system that exists within the Church and it is predominately middle class. The wealthy don't need it and the poor are not accepted in it. (I know this is a generalisation)

Jesus said very clearly that he came to help the poor, the broken, the hurting and those with mental illness, but are these the people that fill our Churches. A good friend while speaking at a conference boldly and honestly said, he found being around the poor and broken was "uncomfortable" he didn't like it. But he was also very aware that the heart of God was love for the poor.

So he continued to help and love the those who were in need. I even realised that in my attitude toward serving the poor was conditional - I had the expectation they would become "like me" middle class. How sick that is....

My attitude has changed a lot, not yet like Christ but certainly has changed in the right direction. Yet I fear that there are many who are crying out for help but but the help that, IF given, is conditional.

I am interested in knowing your experience with serving the poor, the broken, the hurting and those with mental illness. Are they an integral part of the community? or do they exist on the fringe? or is your church predominately middle class?

You can make comment below or post on my message board.

posted by Malcolm | 6:54 AM | |