Helping the Poor
How would you feel if you did not know where your next meal would come from? Imagine having no clothes except the ones you are now wearing. And think about what it would be like to live outdoors and sleep at night wherever you could find some cover from the weather.
Both the Old and New Testaments have much to say about helping the poor. A “poor” person in the Bible is defined as one who lacks food, clothes, and shelter. People in Bible times who were poor were usually widows, orphans, beggars, and those who had physical problems like being blind, deaf, or unable to walk. The poor in the Bible were not like most of the people in the U.S. who are considered poor by government standards. Most people in America have food to eat, clothes to wear, and some type of shelter. The poor in countries like India and Africa are truly poor.
We should have a sincere concern for the truly poor of the world. Wherever we have the opportunity, we should offer help to those who need clothes and food. It is so easy for us to enjoy all the different kinds of food we eat without thinking of ways to help those in the world who have little or no food. Can you think of some ways to show Christian kindness to those who have little?
God wants His people to help the poor of the world. Doing so is an important part of being a Christian: “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
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