But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Hounded by the blazing hot spring sun of Haiti, scores of children gather in the church, singing songs about Jesus they learned at VBS. The singing turned to cheers when the translators and guides walked through the door with large stocks of styrofoam boxes filled with chicken, rice, and beans (a delicious, classic Haitian meal). The cheering stirs one sick little boy from a feverish nap. Too sick to feed himself, a volunteer helps him eat his meal.1 Americans tend to be far removed from such oppressive poverty, and, perhaps because of that, we don’t often consider the urgent, real, physical needs of people in our communities and around the world. As John reminds us, this may signal a heart problem.
In the preceding verse, John draws his audience back to Christ’s sacrificial work in laying down his life for us, and then turns to how we should lay down our lives for our brothers (1 John 3:16). In this context, he calls his listeners to consider how Christ’s example should shape their love and sacrifice for their neighbors. One way this love and sacrificial living manifests itself is in giving materially to our brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need.
Christians are to give from their possessions of “the world’s good” (1 John 3:17). Here, the Greek word for goods means “resources needed to maintain life.”2 This is being in possession of common material needs–food, clothing, etc. Stephen Smalley, a Johannine scholar, writes, “John is not saying that the wealthy alone are required to share their possessions with others; every Christian who is in a position to help others materially is required (responsibly!) to do so.”3
While material poverty confronts every society in various ways, this issue becomes pressing in our conversations about abortion. How are women and families who are already struggling to make ends meet expected to welcome another mouth to feed? Doesn’t this just perpetuate the problem of poverty? Would abortion be the more responsible, caring, and empowering option for women in hard places? Whole Life activist Gloria Purvis powerfully responds to this thinking, “Our well-being should not be measured by our access to abortion, but rather by the things affluent people take for granted: access to wholesome food and clean water, safe and affordable housing, good schools, good jobs, spouses with good jobs, clean air, everything.”4
As Christians seeking to be obedient to God’s word, our concern should not be only with protecting life in the womb, but also with answering the call to care for the material needs of those around us. After all, God created us body as well as soul, and he called his creation good (Gen. 1:31, 1 Tim. 4:1–5). In providing for and assisting others in getting basic material needs, Christians demonstrate that this love God calls us to show is not spiritual only, but physical, emotional, mental, and financial. This love validates the deserved dignity of others made in his image. Furthermore, in showing generosity, we reflect our Savior who loved us generously and “became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
This is an excerpt from Core Christianity’s 30-day devotional on the sanctity of life: Fearfully Made. Download the complete devotional for free.
