Remember the Poor

“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.” (De 15:11 AV)

There is a down side to the government taking care of all those in need.  The people that make up the government tend to lose their compassion for the less fortunate.  We pass it off as the government’s responsibility.  Food stamps, the WIC program, disability, etc.  All are for the needs of those who cannot do for themselves.  In the Old Testament, each individual with means was to help another with means.  The farmer was to allow the corners of his fields to lay unharvested so the poor of the land could gather so food.  There were designated poor boxes at the temple where people could contribute to the needs of the poor.  The nations saw it as their responsibility to help those who needed it.  But each individual was the means to provide that charity.  In the New Testament, the church is instructed to help widows indeed.  They are to see to their needs.  They did not leave it up to the government to help those who were in the family of God.

We have this fella in our church whom I admire for this very thing.  He is always looking for opportunity to help anyone in dire need.  If he sees a transient on the side of the road in need of a lift, or with a sign that reads, “Need food”, he will roll down his window and give him a few dollars.  Recently, he helped a missionary buy a new tire for his car.  This is the kind of heart we should all have.  Not that we should give every beggar on the side of the road the means to continue his or her drug habit.  But there are those individuals or families that are trying as hard as they can, or who are victims of abuse, or are truly physically disabled who could use some charity.

If we do not care for the need which we can easily see, one wonders if we can care for the real need we have a hard time seeing.  If we ignore a hungry man begging for bread, how easy is it to ignore a lost man who needs Christ?  If we turn our eyes away from that family whose father works several jobs but still cannot keep the lights on, how easy is it to be blind to another’s need of salvation?  How we treat those who are in genuine need speaks a lot to our heart for the spiritual needs of those around us!