Neglecting the Weak and Poor

The Bible is totally clear about God's care for the weak and the poor. He not only cares for them, but He expects us to care for them in very tangible ways, too. It is a terrible sin for any of us to have the resources to help the needy people around us, but to keep it only for ourselves. This is one of the sins of Israel in Amos' day. (Amos 8:4,5) God made it clear that He was very displeased with those who had jobs and money, when they cheated people to make money and kept it greedily for their own pleasure. We need to do all we can to guard against this sin today. 

It is easy to become greedy, when the times are very uncertain. We want to keep all we have for ourselves. We do not want to share what we have with others, because we are afraid we will run out of money at some point. Also, we are very stressed these days, and we feel like we deserve to use our money to give us some fun and pleasure. We do this so much, but we fail to remember others who are not able to have even the necessities of life. This is a sin according to Jesus and the apostle Paul. Let me just share one verse that sums up how God feels about this sin. (Ephesians 4:28) We are never to steal from others, whether we do it by taking their possessions or by deceptive business practices. We are to work, doing what we are able to do and doing what is good, so we will have some money left over for those who have needs. I hope we all see the meaning of that verse. We work, not only for ourselves, but we are to share what we make with others, as a conduit of what God has allowed us to make to the weak and poor, for whom God cares so much.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Amos 9, Obadiah, and Jonah 1.