Considering The Poor And Needy

Recently I stopped at a mini-mart to get gas. A young man was there with a bicycle loaded with all sorts of things hanging from it. After mentioning to him about all the things he had on his bike, he asked me for a dollar, which I gave him. I pumped my gas, but was prompted to give him another five dollars to buy a hamburger. He went back into the store. One must use discretion in giving money to total strangers, and I rarely do. This was a different situation, and it was only six dollars.

As I drove away from the gas pump 1 John 3:17 came to mind. “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” I believe it was a confirmation that I did the correct thing. Matthew 25: 31-40 says that when we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome strangers, visit the sick and those in prison. we are doing it as unto God. This passage is in the context of the final separation between true Christians are those who are not, so it needs to be taken seriously.

What is our attitude, as Christians, toward the less fortunate? James 2:1-4 addresses this issue from a different angle, which could apply to local churches.  “My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there’ or ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts.”

So, the question to ask is, are we allowing wrong thoughts toward the poor and needy to stand in the way of compassion? Have you ever heard the saying, “There but by the grace of God go I?” We are to treat each person with the same love, respect, and acceptance, regardless of one’s economic level. Jesus made no distinctions between people with whom he interacted. I heard a person on the radio say, “Jesus sought to lift people up,” but sometimes there is a tendency, even as Christians, to put others down. Psalm 145:14 says, “The Lord upholds all who are falling, and raises up those who are bowed down.”

There is a saying that goes, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” Compassion is an earmark of a true believer. And it can open the door to sharing the message of the Gospel of Salvation. Simply saying to people, “God loves you,” which I said to the young man with the bike, may plant a spiritual seed in a person’s life.

There is great reward in considering the poor and needy, as stated in
Psalm 41:1-3. “Blessed is the one who considers the poor. In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him. The Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land. You do not give him up to the will of his enemies. The Lord sustains him on his sickbed, in his illness you restore him to full health.”