Helping Those in Need

    One common thing I hear Christians discuss is how and when to give to the needy,  I have heard them claim that you must pray and ask for God's guidance, I don't want them to just go buy alcohol, or my favorite 'God helps those who help themselves'.  But is any of this accurate and inline with the teachings of Christ in the New Testament?  I would venture to say no!

     To start off I want to deal with a very clear verse on the subject, and that is Mathew 25:34-46 which states,

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

³⁷ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

⁴⁰ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

⁴⁴ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

⁴⁵ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

⁴⁶ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  It would seem pretty clear from this passage that the Lord never required anything from those in need in order to be helped.  In fact, it would seem that He is requiring help for everyone in need, regardless of any potential sin their lives.

     Another clear example is in Mathew 6:3, which states, "But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."  It should be apparent from these two verses that we're to give without even thinking about where the money is going, not because they deserve it, but because God commanded us to!  I fear that many of us suffer from a greedy heart and that we're worried that if we give to everyone who asks then we will run out of money for ourselves, but this is a lack of faith in God.  Do you really think that God doesn't have enough resources to supply you with every need?  Of course He does.  So next time you see the man on the street with the sign, look at them with the heart of God, and give!

 

By Jeffrey Brandon Lee