The Poor
Jesus was invited to dinner in the house of Simon the leper. While He was reclining at the table, a woman showed up with a bottle of super expensive perfume and anointed Jesus! Some present bristled with anger and annoyance at what the woman did. To them, this was a total waste as the perfume could have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. In response to their indignation, Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.” Mark 14:7
In other words, we will have many opportunities to do good for the poor. We all feel differently about the poor; some think it is their fault, others believe they have just been dealt a bad hand. However you feel about the poor, God commands us to be generous to them. Among the instructions given to the Israelites as they prepared to take the Promised Land was a command to take care of the poor, and not be tightfisted where the less fortunate were concerned but “…Rather, be openhanded and freely lend them [the poor] whatever they need.” Deuteronomy 15:8
Jesus also taught about the importance of being generous to the needy. In Matthew 25:35, while speaking about the judgment seat of Christ, Jesus distinguished the “goats” ( the unrighteous) from the “sheep” (the righteous) by depicting the latter as people who are generous, care for the needy, the troubled and poor. He said whenever we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, help the destitute, we do it for Him and we will be rewarded accordingly.
God our father is a generous God and He gives freely to us out of His abundance. We may not have unlimited resources but that should not stop us from showing kindness to the poor in our neighborhoods, on the street corners, far away or near! In fact, we do not need to go far to find the poor. They are all around us, we cannot will them away, neither can we blink them away. We do not need tons of money to make a difference in the life of the poor man or woman we see every day.
There are many opportunities around us to care for the poor, God commands us to and it is a sign that we are righteous!
Blessings.
Love, Lady Mo❤