"But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish."
-Psalm 9:18 (NIV)
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" -Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
-Psalm 9:18 (NIV)
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" -Matthew 25:40 (NIV)
I was once part of a church congregation that I felt was ignoring an important lesson. Members of the church were making choices to cut funding to missions and outreach in order to decorate the church with unnecessary frills. There were members of the church that pointed out that there will always be poor among us, so the church could spend the money on whatever it wanted right now and then get to helping the poor at a later date, once the members of the church had everything they wanted in their sanctuary.
The circumstances of the needy are addressed at various places in the Bible. As Christians, we are supposed to care for humanity. We are to reflect God's love and compassion to all those we meet, regardless of their circumstance or their ability to repay us what we give them.
The Bible does tell us that there will always be poor around us, but that does not mean that we can ignore the afflicted and needy. We have a responsibility to be the eyes, ears, hands, and feet for Jesus, serving others in His name. Just as God will never forget the needy, we need to be prepared to help the less fortunate around us, whether by giving time or resources.
I believe my former church would have been setting a more Christ-like example if their efforts focused on helping the needy and afflicted in our community and beyond. As I move forward with my journey, growing and learning about God, I try to remember this lesson: we shouldn't ignore the afflicted or postpone helping until a more convenient time. God has blessed each of us in some way and we can use these gifts and talents to help others during our time on earth in order to make a lasting impact on God's kingdom!
Prayer:
Dear God-
Thank You for all you provide for me and my family. Please help me to be Your eyes, ears, hands, and feet here in my community and throughout the earth. Please bless my efforts and use me to further Your kingdom. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
The circumstances of the needy are addressed at various places in the Bible. As Christians, we are supposed to care for humanity. We are to reflect God's love and compassion to all those we meet, regardless of their circumstance or their ability to repay us what we give them.
The Bible does tell us that there will always be poor around us, but that does not mean that we can ignore the afflicted and needy. We have a responsibility to be the eyes, ears, hands, and feet for Jesus, serving others in His name. Just as God will never forget the needy, we need to be prepared to help the less fortunate around us, whether by giving time or resources.
I believe my former church would have been setting a more Christ-like example if their efforts focused on helping the needy and afflicted in our community and beyond. As I move forward with my journey, growing and learning about God, I try to remember this lesson: we shouldn't ignore the afflicted or postpone helping until a more convenient time. God has blessed each of us in some way and we can use these gifts and talents to help others during our time on earth in order to make a lasting impact on God's kingdom!
Prayer:
Dear God-
Thank You for all you provide for me and my family. Please help me to be Your eyes, ears, hands, and feet here in my community and throughout the earth. Please bless my efforts and use me to further Your kingdom. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
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