Do I have an obligation to help the poor? Yes, though not in the way we might think. In God’s economy, serving those in need is serving God himself, and failing to serve those in need is failing to serve him (Matthew 25:31-46). The Bible says, “Owe no debt to others except love” (Romans 13:8), and Jesus teaches that loving others means caring for them in the same way we would want to be loved. How then would we want to be cared for if we were poor and needy while others were rich? Clearly, we would want help getting our basic needs met when disaster strikes—war, natural disaster, job loss, illness, crippling government or corporate corruption, theft, struggles arising from systemic poverty and social degradation, lack of education and family support as with orphans, or any one of a number of problems. If we need a vivid example, Jesus provides an illustration in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:28-37), where we see a complete stranger providing for the needs of another person in a dangerous place; should we Christians not do the same? In short, providing care for the physically and emotionally wounded; being a parent to an orphan or unwanted child; providing job training and economic empowerment; and providing emergency relief after famine, war, disease and natural disasters are all possible aspects of the Christian’s debt of love. That is what we owe the poor—especially those who are our brothers and sisters, called by Jesus’ name (Galatians 6:10). Not only this, but we also have an obligation to live together with the poor in fellowship for Jesus’ sake (Luke 14:12-14 and 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). Of course, we should not help people indiscriminately in ways that encourage them to ignore their own responsibilities (see 1 Timothy 5:3-16).
Posted on: Thu, 16 Jan 2014 23:00:00 +0000
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