"The poor you will always have with you..."

     "And you can help them anytime you want."  I've both heard and used the first part of that verse from Mark as perhaps you have.  How about the second half of the verse?  The verse is in red print so of course it's a quote from Jesus.  Think about what the whole verse says though.  Most of the time when I'm using the first phrase I am thinking about the those who don't have enough food, clothing, shelter, and such.  What about being poor in other ways?  Spiritual poverty was rampant in the days when Jesus walked the earth.  It had always been and will always be.  So, those in spiritual poverty you will always have with you.  We can give food for the hungry, clothing for those who have none and shelter to those who lack shelter.  We cannot give spiritual life to those who have spiritual poverty.  Spiritual richness is offered to one and all.  However, you can lead a horse to water but cannot make him drink.  The one in spiritual poverty must grasp that richness themselves. 
     This is where the second half of that verse comes into play.  We rarely hear someone close to us return from work and say, "I helped someone who was poor today."  It's more like, "I am so glad I don't have to go back to work until tomorrow."   We complain about getting up early, having nothing to wear, no time for breakfast, terrible traffic, pathetic co-workers, and of course our bosses.  When was the last time we seriously looked at ourselves from Jesus' eyes?  Are we no longer even considering we are our brothers/sisters keeper?  Many people look at the very rich and their giving away of money as something wonderful.  Most of those people are required by law to give away a percentage of stashed cash in order to avoid paying taxes.  We pay taxes on just about everything involving life.  Then "others" hand out the food, clothing and shelter for us.  We are left distant from the troubling picture of abject poverty amongst wealth.  Insulating ourselves from having to actually do hands on giving, we congratulate ourselves by claiming the giving away of our money on our taxes so we can get money back!  How hypocritical is that for the Christian?
     Maybe the poor are the rich and the rich are the poor.  It's in our spiritual poverty that we look for what we really need...Jesus.  When we are full, clothed, housed and can go out for pizza we don't really look for Jesus.  We can sit back and congratulate ourselves as not being "one of them."  All the while we actually ARE them.  The rich become poor and the poor become rich.  The religious end up not saved and those who have a relationship with God end up in Heaven.  The second half of the verse has one important word we need to address: "you."  And you can help them anytime you want.  It's all about Jesus working through you.  You can help them.  Anytime you want.  We don't help them and we don't take the time to do so.  What is the testimony in your life?  It's dismal in mine.  The second half of the verse is backwards.  It should read "anytime you want, you can help them."  But that's not what Jesus said.  He said the opposite, "you can help them anytime you want."  It wasn't a choice on our part.  It was a command to them and us.  "YOU can help them anytime YOU want."  "The poor YOU will always have with YOU." 
     We have all kinds of help we can give to others.  We can give food, clothing, shelter, rides, medical supplies and care, encouragement, and Jesus.  But what do we give others?  Joshua 24:15 says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  Is that what we are doing today?  What does it mean to serve the Lord?  It's certainly not "we will serve ourselves."  Yet, that is what we do day in and day out.  We serve ourselves and maybe those close to us.  We "throw" things at people when all along they just want to be taken care of when they can't care for themselves.  I gave a ride to a homeless man the other day.  We talked about life in the short trip.  He exited my car with the most heart felt "God bless you." that I paused and thanked him and returning the "God bless you also."  He wasn't homeless.  He had Jesus.  He wasn't poor.  He had Jesus.  He wasn't naked.  He was clothed in Jesus.  He let me know that.  I was, for the moment, the poor you will always have with you.  He knew that in his poverty he could help me anytime he wanted.