We've all seen those people holding signs at the intersection "Need work/ brain surgery/ God bless you/ anything helps" etc.; my preferred method of dealing with them is to decide it's their own fault that they're poor and drive away. Simple. Efficient. Unbiblical. God has given us many commands concerning the poor and that is not one of them. Naturally, we don't want to donate our money so people can buy drugs and alcohol or gamble and, as Christians, we want to help with their real needs, not the poverty which may just be a symptom, but it is easy to use those pious sounding reasons to be selfish and thoughtless--which also comes naturally.
Before Israel entered the promised land, God gave commands about caring for the poor AND THERE SHOULD'NT HAVE BEEN ANY. Every family entering the country was given a house and land. In the Promised Land Lottery, everybody won. However then, as now, there were people who were unable or unwilling to work or incapable of managing the resources they have. When the Bible was written there was no government assistance and few charities available to the needy, but that doesn't excuse me from either my responsibility to obey or my right to be blessed. And although obedience to God usually results in a higher standard of living, there is no commandment not to be poor. God makes allowance for the poor and so should we.
I have not yet figured out what to do about the poor, but I know we are commanded to care for those in need, that God blesses generosity, and that I am by nature a selfish cheapskate, although I prefer to call it "good with money". Perhaps by showing compassion for the poor I will begin to understand God's inexplicable compassion for me.
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