Daily Devotional for Wednesday, October 21
Help Those Who Are Poor
“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land,” Deuteronomy 15:11.
Most would agree that, to a certain extent, government entitlement programs have gotten out of control. I know, you know, and we all know that some people are on a government handout when they are perfectly capable of fending for themselves. On the other hand, there are many, many people with legitimate needs for some form of assistance. We can make moral pronouncements about people all day, but I promise you that you cannot support a family on a minimum-wage salary. But this is not the place for that discussion. It is a place to discuss our role in our churches regarding those who face need.
Our directive to help the brethren when they are in need is crystal clear in the above Scripture, and for those who want a loophole, the concept of helping the brethren is also well supported in the New Testament. Do you recall the new disciples in Jerusalem selling their belongings so that no one went without? Do you recall the Jerusalem church selecting deacons for the expressed purpose of providing aid to widows and orphans?
We are to love one another the way that Jesus loves us, and that love was sacrificial. Translated into daily practice, this concept means we should help our brethren even if it hurts, so to speak. You may miss a dinner out on the town if you help that family down the street. The very act of helping could use up time you wanted to spend on yourself. How much would those things really hurt us? It probably would not, but imagine what it would mean to them?
Just a Thought
Why on earth would any member of a local New Testament church be going hungry?
Wally Fry