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The Theology of the Poor Should Be to Cultivate Beauty, Not Tear Down the Rich

Warning: I’m not going to do the title justice. In fact, I’m going to leave a lot of loose ends untouched. I just want to explore it for a second and see if I can get you thinking about something…

The theology of the poor should be to cultivate beauty, not tear down the rich. 

What’s more valuable? Deconstruction or construction?

Now, I agree that sometimes deconstruction needs to happen so that construction can occur. 

I think deconstruction, as a sort of conquering and self-preservation, comes pretty natural for us. And yet the Apostle Paul teaches that the goal of Christ-followers should be more than conquering. It should be the cultivation and flowering of Love. 

Something about the very nature of what it means to follow Christ means that we are attempting to deny (maybe through a power bigger than us) the desire to conquer and deconstruct. Our desires are transformed to a place that’s stronger than self-preservation. We are now called to others-preservation. That is the truth about Love. 

The theology of the marginalized should be to cultivate love, not tear down the powerful. 

This is the heartbeat of what Jesus did. He didn’t need to depose of any king or ruler. He didn’t need to lead a revolt. As far as we know and have confidence in, he never sat on a throne. 

The theology of the Christian should be to cultivate the presence of God, not defeat evil.

We can get so caught up in eliminating evil that we never seek the Kingdom of God. Seeking and cultivating God’s Kingdom is not an act of conquering or eliminating or defeating, but an act of loving. 

Christ taught us, in word and deed, that the way forward is not in domination, judgment, and elimination—but in compassion, caring, and self-denial. 

While the poor or the marginalized may be closer to some values than the rich and powerful, and vice-versa, we have to realize that neither end of the spectrum nor any set of earthly circumstances is the complete (or literal) embodiment of the Kingdom values. 

As we move towards the right things, we’ll see the Kingdom of God breaking through. It may never mean we’re rich, and it may never mean we’re poor. It will mean that those things are ultimately not the point.