"YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR AMONG YOU, and you can help them whenever you want to. You will not always have me, the Lord among you."
With all the wealth, knowledge and ability we have, why are there still so many poor among us?
Why are whole countries filled with poor, hungry and diseased people? Why is it that even here in America, the land of plenty, there is always a small percentage of people at the poverty level? The Bible tells us that we will always have the poor among us and that is true even today. What is it that we as believers should do about this dilemma?
The Lord's answer is that we can help the poor among us whenever we want to. As believer's in Jesus Christ and His Word, we should feel compassion on any among us who are in need. We should help in any way we can. We know that the Lord tells us that believer's will never go hungry or without the blessings of the Lord. Knowing this we have a duty to share our earthly goods with those who are less fortunate. It should be a part of our nature to want to give whatever we can, whenever we can. We can help whenever we want to.
Remember that whenever we give even a cup of cold water to a thirsty soul, we are doing it for the Lord. Whenever we give bread, or food, to the hungry we are giving it to the Lord. Whenever we give clothing to a cold and destitute person, the warmth is felt by the Lord who expects us to carry His burden and cross until His return to the earth. When we visit the sick or those in prison, it is though we are visiting the Lord. When we reach out to the weak and disabled we are reaching out to Jesus. The truth for today is that the poor will never cease to exist among us, so we need to open our hearts and hands to others less fortunate. A good time to do this is NOW. YOU WILL ALWAYS HAVE THE POOR AMONG YOU!
