Some thoughts from My Literalist,
Bible-believing Worldview:
On Labor, Minimum
Wage and Immigrant Workers
You shall not oppress a hired
servant who is poor and needy, whether one of your brethren or one
of the aliens who is in your
land within your gates.
Each day you shall give him his wages, and not let the sun go
down on it,
for he is
poor and has set his heart on it; lest he cry out against you to the Lord, and
it be sin to you. (Deuteronomy 24: 14, 15)
On Predatory Lending
If you lend money to any of My people who are poor among you, you shall not
be like a moneylender to him; you shall not charge him interest.
If you ever take your neighbor’s
garment as a pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down.
For that is his only covering, it is
his garment for his skin. What will he sleep in? And it will be that when he
cries to Me, I will hear, for I am
gracious. (Exodus 22: 25-27)
On Entitlements
If one of your brethren becomes
poor, and falls into poverty among you, then you shall help him, like a
stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. (Leviticus 25: 35)
On Community Service/
Unpaid Labor to Receive Charity
And if one of your brethren who
dwells by you becomes poor, and sells himself to you, you shall not compel him
to serve as a slave. (Leviticus 25:39)
On Deference to the
Rich and Special Protection for “Job Creators”
The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;
Let them be caught in the plots
which they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of his
heart’s desire;
He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord. (Psalm 10:
2-3)
He who oppresses the poor to
increase his riches, And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to
poverty. (Proverbs 22: 16)
The righteous considers the cause
of the poor, But the wicked does not understand such knowledge. (Proverbs 29:7)
On Liberal, “Socialist”
Activists
Defend the poor and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and
needy.
Deliver the poor and needy;
Free them from the hand of the wicked. (Psalm 82: 3-4)
On Equal Rights for
Women
Then came the daughters of Zelophehad
… And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the
priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of
meeting, saying, “Why should the name of our father be removed from among his
family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father’s
brothers.”
So Moses brought their case before
the Lord.
And the Lord spoke to Moses,
saying: “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right.” (Numbers
27: 1, 2, 4-7 )
On the “Place” of ex-Criminals
and Sinners
Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I
say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.
(Matthew 21: 31)
On Single Mothers and Children without an Active Father
You shall not afflict any widow or
fatherless child. If you afflict them in any way, and they cry at all to Me, I will
surely hear their cry. (Exodus 22: 22-23)
On What We’ll Have to
Answer for in Judgment
“For I was hungry and you gave Me
no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did
not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did
not visit Me.”
Then they also will answer Him, saying, “Lord,
when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison,
and did not minister to You?”
Then He will answer them, saying, “Assuredly,
I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it
to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.”
And these will go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25: 42-46)
Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of
the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership
development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).
Email atgravestwo2@aol.com
Friend me at www.facebook.com/rev.a.t.graves
To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry
at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .
You can read more on Pastor Graves's personal blog at www.andersontgraves.blogspot.com .
If this message helps or touches you, please help support this ministry.
Send a donation of any amount by check or money order.
Mail all contributions to :
Hall Memorial CME Church
541 Seibles Road
Montgomery, AL 36116
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