caring for the poor

Blessed is the one who considers the poor!

In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

Psalm 41:1

Caring for the needy among us in the love of Christ, out of grateful respect for the mercy that God gives to us, is blessed by God. God sees the poor and needy. He cares for them. He wants whose who can share with them to do so in order for their needs to be met. When I have knowledge of a person in need, and I refuse to help as I am able, I am sinning against God in my selfishness!

If we are not careful, Christians can insulate themselves from helping the poor. Consider this: Psalm 41 was originally meant to a song of worship. Can you imagine going to church and the first verse of the hymn you sing instructs you to care for the poor? I doubt such a song would play well on Christian top 40. That’s sad. We can cloister ourselves away in our churches, giving money towards “projects” more than people. We can choose political expediency as “solutions” to poverty, or we can by cynical... “Jesus said that you will always have the poor with you, so I guess there isn’t much to do to fix the problem.” And all these result in a tragic loss of gospel ministry.

Jesus became poor for our sakes so that through His poverty we could be made eternally rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). This is grace, poured out for us in our spiritual poverty. Caring for the poor is a wonderful door to gospel ministry. Jesus gave Himself to help the helpless. And we can share that good news as we help with the needs of the poorest among us.

They are here. Even in our wealthiest communities there are poor and marginalized people. They may be homeless. They may need food. They may need counseling. They may need financial assistance. They may need medical care. They may need jobs. They ALL need the love of Christ, known through His disciples, and explained and believed in the gospel. God can deliver them... if only we would care!