35 “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. 36 Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. (Lev 25: 35-36)
Here we are commanded to care for the poor. This verse points out the fact that circumstances occur in life that causes people to fall into poverty. In response to such circumstances, we are instructed to lift our brother out of poverty. And how do we do this? We do this when we support him until he is able to support himself.
These Bible verses are not just mere suggestions but commandments of God. Following them requires that one is rooted in the fear of God. The fear of God means that we respect His commandments and teachings and perform them.
In Western society, we often view the poor with eyes of disdain. We perceive them as lazy, uneducated, moochers, etc. However, this is often not the case. Many people find themselves in poverty through no fault of their own.
Moreover, the Word commands us to display compassion for the poor among us by physically doing something to help alleviate it. God does not just want us to sit back and judge, or utter a prayer and go on our way. He wants us to do something physically that will lift the constraints of poverty.
No comments:
Post a Comment