The Poor and Needy

 Have you noticed how our culture devalues the poor and needy people in society? People tend to look down on them as people who are not important or even worthless. If someone can't make a contribution to them, they push them aside. This can be especially true when someone asks them for a contribution or a helping hand. They tend to look the other way and run from them, instead of helping them out.

God is not that way at all. In fact, I believe the Bible shows us that God is just the opposite of how our world treats the poor and needy. There are so many verses in the Bible that show us that God is compassionate and caring to the outcasts and downtrodden. (Psalm 113:7,8) The psalmist said that God "lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among the princes, even the princes of His own people." We need to see what God does, and we need to have the same attitude as God.

Of course, God doesn't always lift up the poor and needy. However, He is always ready to lift them up and bless them. He is waiting to see if they will cry out to Him and if they are willing to be faithful to Him. God wants all of us to realize our total dependence on Him. Being poor puts us in the right place to show us we can't provide for ourselves, so we need to trust God for His provision. Then, when we do that, God is very pleased to bless us. He could even elevate us to a higher position in life, like being a prince to His people.

Now, if that is how God looks at the poor and needy, we need to look at them as people who need our help. We need to pray for them and reach out to them to see how we can help them. Yes, we may need to share the money God has given to us with them, or we may need to help them get a good job. Whatever we do, we must not look down on them. We must look at them as those made in God's image, ones who have great potential if they will just trust the Lord like the all of us should do.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Psalm 115-117.