Jesus empowered us to go out and minister to the world on His behalf... The powerful transformation He had on the world was a result of His direct interaction with others... Personally helping people and immersing Himself within cultures, communities and the lives of those around Him... Are we willing to do the same? Here’s the sad truth... When people are approached by a homeless person, they automatically think the worst of them... Their minds quickly think of reasons why they don’t want to give them anything... They’re weird... They smell... They’re awkward... They’re going to buy drugs... A professional organization can help them much better than me... People usually walk away as fast as they can, ignoring a child of God... In reality, they are avoiding the responsibility that God has placed on our lives to help and love others... Interacting with the poor helps us realize that they’re deeply loved by God and extremely valuable in His sight...
THE NEED
Jesus wants us to help the poor without qualifications! He doesn’t command us to help just the responsible poor... The Christian poor... The likeable poor... The sober poor... The hardworking poor... He calls us to love and help everyone... No matter what! It’s amazing how we’re quick to recognize that God loves us unconditionally, that His grace covers all of our sins... Yet we put so many stipulations on helping other people... If we accept God’s infinite mercy in our lives but refuse to pass it along to others, whether we think they’re deserving of it or not... We’re the worst of hypocrites... In the end, we want to follow Christ’s example... Jesus was with the poor... Non-profit organizations and ministries are great but, they shouldn’t serve as an excuse for you not to do anything on your own...
Imagine if God started forgiving only those who deserved it... We’d all be in big trouble... The amazing thing is, His disciples continually failed, yet Jesus didn’t abandon them... Jesus instructs us to forgive those who sin against us over and over again... Jesus honors the poor widow for putting everything she owned into the church treasury... Shouldn’t she have used the money to buy food or shelter, or put it into savings?! Unfortunately, many churches and Christians today are acting more like banks and treating “charity” like a loan... they dispense aid and resources only to the specific poor they deem “worth it”... Are they sober... Mentally stable... Spiritually healthy... Capable of working... God calls us to be more loving and gracious... This often goes against everything we’re taught at our jobs, within our education and everything we see in the media...
The common response among many believers is that God commands us “to be a good steward” of our money... That is the Christian way of saying “I don’t want to give away any of my time, energy, or resources to people who are just going to flush it away”... Many believe, saving of money is a form of spiritual virtue and a sign of God’s favor, that is far from the truth... Giving directly to the poor forces us to actually interact with humankind, with the people God wants us to be with... Christians have a nasty habit of donating to charities and organizations simply because they don’t want to be uncomfortable or get their hands “dirty”... It’s their way of “helping” without having to actually do anything...
In a culture obsessed with consumerism, money is seen as the ultimate form of power and success... For Christians, especially middle-class Westernized believers, it’s easy to assume the worst of the poor... We blame them for not working, being lazy... Having drug addictions... Making poor choices... Not trying hard enough... We often equate financial worth with personal value... We place the poor in the lowest level of our preconceived (often subconscious) human standard... We treat them accordingly and are continually blaming, humiliating, and shaming them through our condescending criticism and judgment... We need to remember that being poor in and of itself isn’t a sin and doesn’t make a person less valuable in the eyes of God... Christians need to realize this...
Lord... If I am ever ungrateful, I beg you to forgive me...
There are many non-profit organizations seeking donations in order to help a variety of wonderful causes... But, try cutting out the middleman and start being the direct agent of giving... Instead of writing out a check or sending a package to an organization, find a homeless or poor individual and reach out to them personally... Give them your food, clothes, time, energy, and whatever else represents Christ's love to you... Do it yourself in person! Don’t pass along the responsibility to someone else... For many, this sounds like an uncomfortable way to spend your time... It probably will be and that's why you should it...