Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Are We Making Excuses To Ignore The Poor?

Are We Making Excuses To Ignore The Poor?

Last updated on: October 22, 2025 at 1:58 am by Henry Karlson

0 Comments

Are We Making Excuses To Ignore The Poor? 2025-10-22T01:58:35-05:00 Henry Karlson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Lawrence OP: He (Jesus) Became One Of The Poor / flickr

Many Christians, after reading or hearing that Jesus said, “For you always have the poor with you, but you will not always have me” (Matt. 26:11 RSV), come to the conclusion that Jesus wants the poor to always exist. They think he doesn’t want us to help or care for them because if we did so, we might end up making Jesus a liar by wiping out poverty in the world. They misunderstand the point. Jesus, when he said this, was defending a woman who showed him love. She used her money to buy a jar of perfume so she could pour it over Christ’s head and honor him. Some, led by Judas (who liked to keep track of the money Christ’s followers had) wished she had donated the money. Jesus rebuked him saying the woman was right to honor him. It was a special situation. His physical presence was not always going to be with them; they had a short time in which to honor him through it, but the poor will always be there, that is, they will always have someone to take care of later. Indeed, far from suggesting they shouldn’t be concerned about the poor, the implication is they should be, not just once, but throughout all their lives. The poor will always be there. Christians should care for them, but the care should be real, not performative, which is why they can be and should be helped in many ways, and not just by giving them money. This is why those who care for the poor should be concerned with the causes of poverty and work to eliminate them as best they can. And, as Terry Veling wrote, the poor can be and should be classified as all those in some sort of extreme need:

The poor are always in our midst. They are not only the “economically poor,” but all those “who cannot cope” and who find themselves suddenly burdened or stricken for one reason or another – the unemployed worker, the single parent, the illegal immigrant, those overwhelmed by debt, or evicted by the landlord, or arrested on the streets. [1]

Christ does not want us to ignore the poor; indeed, he indicated our care and concern for the poor represents caring for him. The woman who came to him likely was among the poor, burdened by society and its unjust impositions upon her; anyone being critical of her action in the name of the poor ultimately shows they do not truly care for the poor, because they would not act in such hostility towards her if they did. We see something similar today; many like to pretend to be charitable, but do so in a way to dishonor or belittle those they help, such as those who say the poor should never, even for a brief moment, enjoy the fine things in life so long as they are poor but instead accept the leftovers they are given. Thus, those who were critical of her doubly dishonored Jesus, both by saying he should not have been shown love by the woman, but also, by dishonoring him through belittling her, for she was one of the poor in whom he is to be found. In this way, we can find her story serves as an example of the way people reveal their true selves: many will speak the right things, but their words are tools being used for the exact opposite of what they say, which is shown by the way they act. It confirms what Paul said when he wrote to the Corinthians, that is, God chooses the foolish things of the world to shame those who viewed themselves to be wise. Theodoret, understanding this, reveals the implications of Paul’s words:

I mean, consider your calling, brethren, that not many of you were wise according to the flesh, not many powerful, not many of noble birth (v.26). He did not say, None wise, none powerful, none of noble birth: some believers did come from these, but not many, the majority happening to be form poorer classes. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised things of things of the world and what is not to abolish what is (vv. 27-28). By foolish, weak and lowly he referred to people’s opinion: real folly is not lack of verbal skills but absence of faith, weakness and lowly birth are not poverty but impiety and vicious habits. The God of all, at any rate, overcame the learned through the unlearned, and the rich through the poor, and through fishermen he snared the world. [2]

We must be concerned for the poor. They can be found to be with us in a variety of ways. They will always be with us because there will be no utopia within history. There will be times when things will be better, and other times, when they will be worse. We must struggle to make things as best they can be. We must not use the fact that we cannot make things perfect as an excuse for not trying to make things better. This is a common temptation, and it is one which too many fall for, which is why we find people often making the perfect the enemy of the good. We must not do so. We must recognize the poor is with us, and with the poor, Jesus is also present. What we would do for Jesus we should do for them. We must, indeed, try to make things the best it can be for them, making them happy or blessed, realizing it is what God wants for them:

This is what “making the poor happy” means: rescuing them from their anonymous solitude, giving back to them a name and face, prompting them to be open to a new awareness of themselves and their dignity. To do all that, we must love them. A poor person is not happy just because he is given shelter, fed, and care for, but also — and most importantly – because he feels loved and given consideration. Without that quality of a relationship, a home for the elderly can be a sad place, so sad it may kill.[3]

We must love the poor. If we love them, we will want the best for them, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We will not pit their physical well-being against their emotional or spiritual ones. We will try to help them holistically, and if we find they are not ready for one way we can help them (such as giving them spiritual comfort) we will not push it on them. We will love them in the ways they will accept, such as making sure their physical needs are met. We will do what we can to make them feel as a person who is an invaluable members of society. We must always make sure they are treated with the dignity they deserve.

[1] Terry A. Veling, Practical Theology (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books. 2005), 182.

[2] Theodoret of Cyrus, Commentary on the Letters of St. Paul. Volume One. Trans. Robert Charles Hill (Brookline, MA: Holy Cross Orthodox Press, 2001), 164 [First Corinthians].

[3] Éloi Leclerc, Song of Silence: The Journey of Saint Jeanne Jugan. Trans. Claire Trocmé (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2002), 69.

Stay in touch! Like A Little Bit of Nothing on Facebook.
If you liked what you read, please consider sharing it with your friends and family!

N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

Progressive Christian

Previous Post

October 20, 2025

The Healing Power of Horror Films And Literature

Next Post

October 23, 2025 EWTN's Influence On American Catholic Faith

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Gosh, did that hit the spot. I have been having great anxiety lately. And I ..."

Mark Wilson

Rejecting Doom: Christian Hope And Human ..."

"Justice and peace are two sides of the same coin. Where there is justice, there ..."

Dr.Cajetan Coelho

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Thank you for your very, very powerful and very, very insightful analysis of the relationship ..."

alwayspuzzled

Justice First, Charity Beyond It: Serving ..."

"Given the amount of lethal malevolence that has prevailed in human history for the past ..."

alwayspuzzled

We Must Value Our Health

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Abortion Abraham abuse Aesthetics AI Aliens Ambrose Ancestors and Everything Andrew Angels Animals Anne Anthony Antisemitism apologetics Apophatic Apostle John Aquinas Artificial Intelligence Asanga Ascension Asceticism Assumption Atheism Attachment Augustine Authority Avarice Balthasar Baptism Beauty Biden birthright citizenship Bishops Black History Books Buddhism Bulgakov Byzantine Calendar C.S. Lewis Calcidius Catholic Catholicism Catholicism Celibacy Charity Chastity children Chrismation Christ Christmas Christology Church Climate Change Common Good Communion Confession Confirmation Conscience Constantine conventions conversion councils Covid Creation Cross Dead Death Death Penalty Debate Deception Demagogues Demons Desert Monks Desert Mothers Desire destruction development Dialogue Dignity Dionsyius Dionysius Discipline Diversity Division Doctor Who doctrine dogma Dormition Dualism Easter Easter Series Ecumenical Councils Ecumenism Education Election Empathy Environment Error Eschatology eschaton Eternity Ethics Eucharist Evangelism Eve Evil evolution Faeries Faith Fear femininity Ficino Florence Florensky Folktale Fools Forgiveness Freedom Future gender Gentile Gentiles Glory Gnostic God gods Good Samaritan Goodness Gospel Government Grace Great Fast Guns Hate healing Health Heaven Hell Hellenism Heresy Hierarchy Hildegard Hinduism History Holiness Holy Spirit Holy Week Hope Horror Human rights humanity Humility hypocrisy ICE icon icons Identification Identity Idol II Nicea Immigration incarnation Individualism Informal Reflections Inklings Intention Inter-Religious Interfaith Internet Interpretation Intrinsic evil Irenaeus Islam Israel Jacob Jerome Jesus Jews John Chrysostom John of Damascus John the Baptist Joseph Judaism justice Justification kenosis Kindnesss Kingdom of God Kingdom of Heaven Law Law of Moses Lazarus Leaf by Niggle Lent Lenten Reflection Liberation Theology Lies Life Listen Literature Liturgy locutions Logic Logos Love Marriage Martyrs Mary Mass Maximos The Confessor Meanness Meditation Mercy Middle Path Migrants Mind Miracles Miriam Morals Moses Movies Music Muslims Myths Names Nationalism Native Americans New Year Nicea Nicholas Nothing Novatian Obedience Occam's Razor Ordination Origen Original Sin Orthodox orthopraxis Pagans Palamas Palm Sunday Paradise Paschaltide Paul Peace Pentecost person Peter piety PKD Plato pluralism Plurality Poem Poetry Poiltics Politics Poor Pope Pope Francis Pope Leo XIV Post Office Prayer Pride Pro-life Prodigal Son propaganda Prophecy Prophets Providence Putin Racism Reading Reason Reflection Refugees Relationships Religion Religion Series Religious Liberty Repent Republicans Rest Resurrection Rich Rites Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation Salvian Santa Science Scripture Self-Giving Sexuality Sibyl Sick Silence Sin Singlehood Social Justice Society Sodom Solovyov Speculations Spiritual Reflection St. Cyril of Alexandria St. Justin Martyr Suffering Sunday of the Paralytic Man Sunday of the Samaritan Woman Superhero Supreme Court Teaching Technology Thanksgiving The Father the Universe Theological Reflection Theology Theosis Theotokos Thomas Timaeus Time Tolerenace Tolkien Tradition Transfiguration Trinity Trump Truth Uncategorized Unity Universities USCCB Value Vatican II Vegetarian Vices Violence Virtue Vocations War Water Welcome Wisdom Womanhood Women Work World View Worship Writing Zacchaeus

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz