Charity Begins At Home
How are we supposed to treat people who fall on hard times? We are to help them. We are not to take advantage of them. We should give them enough help that they can get on their feet, and live among us.(Leviticus 25:35,36)
This is especially true when it comes to "brothers." Families must stick together. Friends should help each other out. Christians should always reach out to be of assistance to other believers who fall into poverty. It is a part of Christ's compassion for everyone, but in particular, to those in need.
However, as these verses teach us, this charity even extends to strangers and sojourners. We are not to be generous with our friends and stingy with people we don't know. We are to love everyone with the love of Christ. It is one way of being a witness to someone we don't know. When we share physical resources, we can also share the gospel with them.
Today, there is much talk about how much the government should help people. Although, I think there is a place for that kind of assistance in extreme situations, I don't believe that is very effective at all. People know how to help people. The government is too impersonal. Government can't see the real problems. Sometimes, people who become poor, need something else besides money. That is why the saying has evolved, "Charity begins at home." We are to be Christ's hands and feet. If every person practiced this along with every church, we could change lives and change our society for the better.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 26-27 and Numbers 1.
This is especially true when it comes to "brothers." Families must stick together. Friends should help each other out. Christians should always reach out to be of assistance to other believers who fall into poverty. It is a part of Christ's compassion for everyone, but in particular, to those in need.
However, as these verses teach us, this charity even extends to strangers and sojourners. We are not to be generous with our friends and stingy with people we don't know. We are to love everyone with the love of Christ. It is one way of being a witness to someone we don't know. When we share physical resources, we can also share the gospel with them.
Today, there is much talk about how much the government should help people. Although, I think there is a place for that kind of assistance in extreme situations, I don't believe that is very effective at all. People know how to help people. The government is too impersonal. Government can't see the real problems. Sometimes, people who become poor, need something else besides money. That is why the saying has evolved, "Charity begins at home." We are to be Christ's hands and feet. If every person practiced this along with every church, we could change lives and change our society for the better.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Leviticus 26-27 and Numbers 1.