One of the things God wants each of us to do is to help those who are less fortunate. You don’t have to go to a third world country to help poor people either. Every country and community has people who need help, but what can we do about it if the problem is so great? I like what Andy Stanley says: Do for one, what you wish you could do for every one. Don’t let what you can’t do keep you from what you can do. You don’t have to single handedly make a dent in poverty, but you can make a difference in one person’s life.
Too often we look at the whole instead of the individual. We get overwhelmed and think there’s nothing we can do, but that’s not true. You can make a difference in one person’s life. You can help them find a better paying job, you can pay for their groceries, you can watch their kids while they job hunt, you can offer some extra cash,, etc. God’s heart is to care for the poor, and if it’s important to Him, it should be important to us.
Here are some verses that show God’s concern for the poor.
1. When you harvest the crops of your land, do not harvest the grain along the edges of your fields, and do not pick up what the harvesters drop. It is the same with your grape crop—do not strip every last bunch of grapes from the vines, and do not pick up the grapes that fall to the ground. Leave them for the poor and the foreigners living among you. I am the LORD your God.
Leviticus 19:9-10 NLT
2. Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans; be fair to the needy and the helpless.
Psalm 82:3 GNT
3. For the poor will never cease out of the land; therefore I command you, You shall open wide your hands to your brother, to your needy, and to your poor in your land.
Deuteronomy 15:11 AMPC
4. Jesus looked him hard in the eye—and loved him! He said, “There’s one thing left: Go sell whatever you own and give it to the poor. All your wealth will then be heavenly wealth. And come follow me.”
Mark 10:21 MSG
5. Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?” And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”
Matthew 25:37-40 NLT
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 