All around us, every day, there are innumerable
souls forgotten by the world: the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the
lonely, the broken. They move in anonymity as the world speeds by in frantic
pursuit of riches and ease. It is precisely in the estimation of God that such
people are most precious. It is the poor, the needy, who represent the pulse of
God’s loving care, the reminder that love must be something more than a word.
They are a test of the human heart, since what a soul contains is revealed in
its treatment of them.
Again, the Scriptures remind us that showing
mercy is not a suggestion, it is a command. God instructs us to open our hands
in giving, to lift those that fall, to feed those that are hungry, and to
clothe those that are naked. God says that in showing compassion to the least
of these, we are doing it for Him. Every loaf of bread that is handed out,
every drop of water that is given, every act of kindness that is extended to a
lost soul is observed by God.
However, in this day, the warmth of compassion
is missing. Many people walk over the poor as if they are not there. Places
bustle with food and riches, yet the needy are found at the gates of plenty.
Beasts roam around in agony, starving and unwanted, as people walk over them as
if they are not there. The heart of every human is turned to stone, having
greed as a master. The affection of many people has cooled, and people lack
mercy. However, God’s word says that those who practice mercy towards the poor
are lending to God, and God will certainly pay them in due time.
The poor are not a problem; they are a
reflection of God’s heart. Each individual who is in need of food, clothing, or
shelter is a reflection of the opportunity that another person has of showing
what love looks like in practical terms. God will bless those who are generous
in giving, but He will curse those who shut their eyes to those in need. To not
display compassion is to defy the essence of the God that we represent. God is
the one who gives food to the birds of the air and clothes the flowers of the
field.
True wealth lies not in possessions, but in
compassion. Some people amass riches that will one day be lost with time, yet
they fail to store the riches that never fade; those of giving. Give to the
poor, and you are placing money in eternity. Every act of kindness is a seed
planted in God’s soil, and God is the one who harvests the crop. God does not
measure gifts by quantity, but by the power of the love that fuels the gift.
What counts is giving a cup of water in God’s name, rather than a whole heap of
gold in the name of selfishness.
God is also exhorting us to care for the
fatherless and the needy, those who lack power and lack a voice. It is the
elderly left alone in loneliness, the child in tears of hunger, the mother
struggling to place food upon her family’s table, the sick who cannot pay for
care, that God is especially looking out for. We neglect God’s heart if we
neglect them. We follow God’s path if we follow theirs.
It is not sufficient to feel sympathy; God
requires something more. God calls people to act. He states that a faith
without works is dead. Words of encouragement mean little if the hungry are not
fed or if the naked are not clothed. Compassion is more than a feeling; it is a
motion. It means doing something when the world is standing still. It means
giving when the world is saying “keep.” It means sharing when the world is
saying “keep.” It means giving when the flesh is saying “hold back.” It means
loving when it costs something. True, genuine, pure love is sacrificial love,
and that is what God accepts.
In this generation, those who are poor and
needy are more than those who lack material possessions. Many of the poor are
spiritually impoverished souls, empty, shattered, and peaceless. They crave
hope and yearn for the truth, but the world gives them only vanity. As
Christians, we are called to address not one type of poverty, the kind that is
physically starving, but also the soul that is shouting in despair. It is not
enough to feed the body if we do not feed the soul. It is hypocrisy if we
proclaim salvation but disregard suffering.
This is where we see the homeless on the
street, the orphan in the cold, the elderly eating alone. This is Christ in
those people, as he suffered likewise. What we refuse in the face of those
people is what we refuse in Christ. What we do in secret to benefit those
people is what we do in honor of Christ.
A nation that is godly is not measured by power
and riches, but by its mercy. A nation that looks down upon the poor is a
nation that calls God’s judgment upon itself. Yet a people who remember the
poor are the recipients of God’s blessing. As we bless others, God opens his
hand to us. Giving liberally causes curses to be removed, as well as opens
doors of blessings. A people that blesses others lack not; God will refill what
is given out.
Helping the poor is a way of partnering with
God’s heart. God is near to the lowly, and He causes those to prosper who cause
others to prosper. Each of us is expected to be a vessel of God’s love, a
source of hope in the midst of darkness, a place of refuge in times of despair.
We may not be able to save the whole world, but we can certainly touch one
person. We cannot change the whole world, but we can certainly change one life
with one act of kindness.
Don’t wait until you have plenty in order to
give. True giving is done through willing giving, not giving as a result of
having. It means a great deal more to give a warm meal, a kind act, a word of
encouragement, than to give gold. It is not the value of the thing that is
important, it is the heart that gives. This widow, who contributed only two
small pieces of money, gave more than the wealthier one, as the one who gives
out of need gives more than the one who gives out of plenty. We must not,
however, forget that the poor are not only those to be pitied but also those to
be honored. Some of the poor are those who have a faith stronger than gold, a
heart that is refined in trials, and a hope that is a beacon of light in the
darkest corners of the earth. God prefers to hide his glory in the midst of the
poor; his presence resides with those who have no earthly possessions apart
from trusting in him. To disregard the distress that is experienced by the poor
is to act in opposition to the Spirit of Christ.
It is He who came to bind the brokenhearted and
to bring liberty to the captive who issues the same kind of challenge to his
disciples. God does not neglect those who act in kindness towards his people.
It is He who repays those who display mercy towards the needy. A kind heart is
a sweet offering that ascends before God’s throne. Someday, as he returns to
judge the world, he will say to those who display kindness: “I was hungry, and
you gave me meat. I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink. I was a stranger,
and you took me in.” This is the call of action, of awakening the power of love
in a world that is becoming colder by the day. Time is running out, and every
second counts. Live a life that is a beacon of warmth to the forgotten and a
help to those who are falling. Give generously, love extravagantly, and serve
with humility. The poor are not a cause to be undertaken; they are a calling
that is given to those who walk with God. They will shine as a reflection of
the merciful heavens, living in the joy of the Lord.
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