“Whatever we have that we do not need is theft of the poor.”

This was a statement made by Father Lawrence in one of his Coffee Cup Commentaries that hit home for me.  He was trying to summarize some of John the Forerunner’s teachings and was talking, specifically, about Luke 3:11 which says, in part:

“The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”

Another example mentioned here was where we are told that if we see someone without shoes we should run home, get our extra pair, and give them to the person.  (I forget the exact reference.)  What struck me was that this was not a “sell all you have” command (given to those for whom wealth is a stumbling block to salvation), nor was it the “go the extra mile” command (given to those of whom help is asked/required/demanded); it was a separate command that was given to the general public as a statement of how they need to behave on a regular, day to day basis.

Notice how John specifically singles out the person with multiple tunics, and *not* the person who only has one.  In the example of the shoes (I wish I remembered that reference) we are to run home and get our extra pair, not give them the ones on our feet right there and then as we will need them to be able to go home for the extra ones without causing harm to our own feet.  I have a habit of thinking in terms of “giving until it hurts” or sacrificing of what I have no matter the cost, but that’s not what’s being asked of us.  We are being asked not to give up what we need for the sake of others, but to give of what we have extra of.  Which brings me back to the quote:

“Whatever we have that we do not need is theft of the poor.”

North America (and indeed a lot of western culture in general) is almost entirely built upon the premise of having what we don’t need.  Take that to its logical conclusion: North America is almost entirely built upon the premise of robbing from the poor.  As we approach Christmas we are going to be bombarded with advertisements telling us that we should buy things that we don’t need or won’t ever use and trying to convince us that this is the true spirit of Christmas.

How ironic is that?  Businesses are trying to tell us that the true spirit of Christmas is to rob the poor.