“Blessed is he who considers the plight of the poor. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, and he will be blessed on the earth; You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.” – Psalm 41:1-2

There are enemies that are sent against you and this scripture tells you that it is the will of God to protect you from those enemies. God wants to protect you so that you do not just start your Christian life and phase out but that you walk in it and burn on fire for God. God wants to bless you on the earth so that wherever you go, you can be a blessing to other people. When you care for the poor, it does not mean that you will not have trouble but God promises to deliver you from trouble. There are seven promises in the Bible for those who consider the poor:

1. There will be deliverance in times of trouble
2. Preservation
3. Revived to life again
4. Blessed upon the earth
5. Deliverance from enemies
6. Strength
7. Made to recover in weakness

God identifies with the poor; how we treat them is how we treat Him. Your prayer life, fasting, and devotion to God are very important but your attitude towards the poor really exposes you attitude towards God (Proverbs 14:31). When you give money to the poor, you are lending money to God and God will never be in debt to anybody. He promises to pay you back. If you loan to the poor, you loan to God; if you trample on the poor, you insult God.

Jesus’ Heart For the Poor

Jesus identifies with the poor; how we treat them will determine if we will be accepted or condemned. I am not talking about our salvation but our eternal rewards.

“Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.” – Matthew 25:34-6

Jesus became poor so that we might become rich. If you want to honor Jesus this season, you can find Him in poor people.

Those who claim to have opened their hearts to God but closed their hearts to the poor are liars (Isaiah 58:6). The fasting that ignores the poor is the fasting God ignores.

“What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith alone save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,” but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?” James 2:14-18

You cannot help every single needy person but you can help the ones you are aware of in your neighbourhood. James went a step further in James 1:27 saying that pure and undefiled religion is to help the poor and keep yourself from worldliness.

Offices in the Early Church

Episkop – an elder who oversees the Word, (Acts 20:28).

Daikon – oversees the charity, (Acts 6:1-3).

The Early Church sent Paul out on Apostolic missions and the one thing they told them to be mindful of was to care for the poor(Galatians 2:9). That’s why Christianity is different to the culture. Culture runs from the poor; we run to them.

“‘Atheism’ [i.e. the Christian faith] has been specifically advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans (Christians) care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them.” – Emperor Julian Arsacius to the high priest of Galatia.

This was what a pagan emperor said as a testament to the power of Christian faith. Would the culture say the same thing about us today? Or would they mention the loudness of our music, the mode of our dressing, or the beauty of our buildings?

Helping the Poor is Called Mercy and Doing Justice

The Hebrew word for poor in the Bible means to be wrongfully oppressed. Tim Keller noted, in his article ‘the Gospel and the Poor’, that poverty is caused by three reasons:

• Injustice and oppression – where unjust social conditions or treatment keeps a person in poverty. A system designed to keep the poor poor and the rich rich.
• Circumstantial calamity – A natural disaster like famine etc.
• Personal failure – The most common cause is our own sin and failure.

Tim Keller also outlines three ways we can help the poor:

• Relief – Direct aid to meet physical needs
• Development – education, job creation, training
• Reform – social reform aims to address the root causes of poverty by changing social conditions and structures.

God does not want us to help people to make them depend upon us but to empower them to make their own living and be self-sustaining. One of the ways we can help the poor is to have more Christians going into politics and business.

The Gospel To The Poor

Through the gospel that is moving us to help the poor, our giving and involvement with the poor will be significant, remarkable and sacrificial (2 Corinthians 8:8-9). The gospel is the driving motivation, not our compliance or even our compassion. Compassion can fluctuate and if you are not motivated by the Gospel, you will try to do the least you can not to feel guilty about it.

10 Objections Why People Don’t Help the Poor

1. It’s their own fault – While personal responsibility is important, the Bible commands believers to show mercy regardless of the reason for someone’s hardship. Compassion isn’t conditional on whether we think someone deserves it.
2. I can’t afford it – Helping the poor is not about the size of your gift but the heart behind it. Jesus praised a widow who gave two small coins because she gave out of her poverty. Even small acts of generosity matter to God. Generosity is not only for the rich; it is for the believers.
3. They will misuse it – While it is wise to give thoughtfully, we are called to give without judgmental hearts. Luke 6:30 says, “Give to everyone who asks of you.” Partnering with trusted organizations and ministries can ensure that help is used effectively.
4. The government should handle it – Scripture places the responsibility for helping the poor on individuals and the church, not just institutions. Isaiah 58:10 challenges believers to “Spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed.” Stop asking the government to do what the Bible made very clear that you need to do.
5. I don’t have time – Acts of kindness don’t always require large amounts of time. Jesus modeled compassion even when He was busy (Mark 6:34). Small acts of service can make a big difference.
6. There are too many people in need; I cannot make a difference – Jesus fed thousands with a few loaves and fish, (Matthew 14:13-21), showing that God can multiply small acts of faith. Do for one what we would wish to do for everyone.
7. Helping them creates dependency – True help empowers rather than enables. The Bible encourages teaching people to provide for themselves when possible but this doesn’t negate the call to meet immediate needs (2 Thessalonians 3:10).
8. The poor are dangerous – Jesus consistently ministered to outcasts and those society avoided. Courage and trust in God should drive our actions. Matthew 25:40 remind us, “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
9. There are other priorities – While caring for one’s family is Biblical, the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches that loving our neighbor sometimes requires putting others’ urgent needs before our own convenience.
10. They don’t need my help; somebody else will do it – Proverbs 3:27 says, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to act.” We are each called to respond when we see a need.

Let us be Christians who genuinely love God and we show that by caring for the poor that He puts within our knowledge. Even if you cannot do it every time, the verse I started with says blessed are those who consider the poor.

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