Several years ago I was in Nicaragua with our partner Osvaldo, serving a bunch of poor villages in various ways including feeding children. I told him we might not be able to financially sustain the program. He responded that God will provide for these little ones, and we would be accountable for our decisions on judgement day. Because clearly we North Americans had money, and we were choosing not to give it to the poor.

Back at home, I was visiting with a friend who had just returned from Kenya. He had a different perspective. A tour through the countryside revealed dozens of well-meaning projects funded by the west, that were now just abandoned wells and shells of buildings. He was as upset as Osvaldo, but his problem was that these people are not being good stewards. And his conclusion was they will be judged, and he won’t be giving any more of God’s money to them.

So I did a little Bible study to find out who’s perspective was right. I unfortunately can’t find the results right now. But as I recall, I found about 200 references to the poor. Two of them were about good stewardship, from the same story found in Matthew and Luke:

His master replied, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” – Matthew 25:23

The other ~198 all said the same thing: give them your money. Like this:

Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. – Proverbs 28:27

I went for a walk with my Indonesian friend and I asked him how this could be. Osvaldo had little Bible knowledge, yet he knew this was true. My Canadian friend had a lot of Bible knowledge, but missed this truth. How could we be reading our Bibles so differently than the Nicaraguans? His reply: “We have better lawyers. We can make it say whatever we want.”