"Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or sojourner, that he may live with you."--Leviticus 25:35. Here God is giving a command regarding the treatment of the poor among the Israelites. In the New Testament Jesus tells us that we will always have the poor among us in Matthew 26:11. So the question we have to ask ourselves is how does this command apply to us and how are we to handle those who are poor among us?
The poor among us. To begin, Leviticus 25:36 goes on to say that Israel is first of all not to take advantage of the poor by charging the poor man "usurious interest." Secondly, Israel is told revere God and that the poor countryman may live with someone.
The poor among us. So again, as God's people how are we to handle the poor among us?
The poor among us. If you were to ask this question to five different Christians, chances are you would get five different responses. I understand the treatment of the poor Christians among us is a loaded question but I am here to offer a biblical perspective on the subject using the command found in Leviticus 25:35 as a foundation.
The poor among us. The first thing Leviticus 25:35 says to do is to sustain the poor countryman. What this means is to strengthen the poor. But how do we do this?
The poor among us. Again, you ask this question to five different Christians, you will get five different answers. But what does the Bible have to say? How do we sustain or strengthen the poor among us?
The poor among us. Well fact is we do need to provide for the poor. You might remember in Luke 18:18-27, Jesus instructed the rich man to sell all he had and give it to the poor.
The poor among us. The point I am trying to make here is that we as Christians have a direct responsibility to the poor among us.
The poor among us. As members of the Lord's church, we have a responsibility to do what we PRACTICALLY can to help the poor among us. I don't mean just a handout but to strengthen the poor man or woman as suggested in Leviticus 25:35
The poor among us. As an example of helping the poor I tell you the following: When I was at camp last week, a member of another congregation and good friend of mine, Rhazzle, told me of a person who was in need at her congregation. In addition to meeting this person's immediate needs, the church was able to provide a place to live and help this person find a steady job. This is one example of what we can do for the poor among us.
The poor among us. Consider the image above. What would you do if you encountered a person in that situation? These people are closer than you think. But what the church will often do is refer the poor man over to some government or outside organization instead of fulfilling our biblical responsibility to do what WE can do to help the poor man, even if it is something as simple as providing a meal.
The poor among us. So my encouragement to you is this, next time you see a poor person in need, figure out what you can do to meet their needs and see if there is something you can do to help that person get back on their own two feet. Finally, let us not forget the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:45--"Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'"
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