Hurting or Helping God

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (Isaiah 58:10)

He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor. (Proverbs 14:31)

In one of his parables Jesus compared two kinds of his professed followers. He had this to say about those that were saved: Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. (Matthew 25:40b) On the other hand those who were lost were told: Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. (Matthew 25:45b)

This reflects what we learn here in Proverbs: the way we can show love or disdain for God is by the way we treat the most helpless humans. A supposedly helpless person has only God to help him, and God takes responsibility for him. God commands his people to be kind to the helpless on his behalf. Even if you think you are a Christian, the Bible is clear that you will be lost if you do not care for the needy, unless you repent. However, I realise that wisdom must be exercised, but the problem is not that wisdom is exercised but rather that apathy is being exercised.

How can I help the soul rather than just the body? By giving loving care and talking about Jesus and what he has done for me. These two things are not a professional calling, they are a universal calling. I mean it's not just a few particular Christians like pastors and other paid church workers that God wants to do this work; it is every believer, including you.

Bill Gates and You

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (Isaiah 58:10)

There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty. 25 The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself. (Proverbs 11:24-25)

He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he. (Proverbs 14:21)

How is it possible that the man who gives generously can be richer than the miser? Well, if you take Bill Gates for an example you can see that it is a real phenomenon. God has given you money not only for yourself but for others. He wants you to have the pleasure of giving to others so He has given you more than you need to survive. If you hoard everything you will miss out on the goodwill of others and have lower self-esteem. You will make bad decisions for lack of wise counsel and waste money to make yourself feel better. You will commit sin out of a lack of care for other people and be miserable. There has never been a time in history where it was less appealing to be rich. Give generously and wisely and God will give you the things that money cannot buy.

Diabolical Tricks

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

Be alert because the devil is your enemy and he is trying to get you. Why should we be alert? Because we must resist the devil by trusting God you aren't the only one that is tempted by the devil.
Why would I be told to be alert if understanding the devil's movements is impossible or cannot help me? Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. (2 Cor 2:11) We should understand how the devil tricks us so that we can resist him better.

How To Be Liked and Be Safe

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (Isaiah 58:10)

Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. (Psalm 41:1)

A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. 6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. (Psalm 112:5-9)

Do you wish that people liked you more? Do you wish you had a strong sense of security? God tells us that if we give thought to the poor and help them practically, people will say that we are good people.  He also tells us that if we help the poor to the point that we need to trust in his ability to keep us from becoming poor ourselves, then he will protect us from being destroyed by unexpected emergencies. Give generously to the poor and you will have respect and security. What a wonderful thing!

Welfare Ministry

And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday: (Isaiah 58:10)

Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? (Isaiah 58:7)

If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother: 8 But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth. 9 Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the Lord against thee, and it be sin unto thee. 10 Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto. (Deuteronomy 15:7-10)

We ought to give generously to those who need it. This could be food, a room or money depending on the circumstances. But I believe that here in Australia, emotional support and moral guidance are the resources that the poor need. The poor here have money, housing and security, but nobody guides them in the truth and helps them when they need it. To help the poor in the way they need to be helped rather than how the poor needed to be helped over two thousand years ago or even twenty years ago will be the key to effective welfare ministry.

Personalise the Word

And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: Deuteronomy 6:6

Think about God's words. Make them a part of you. Paraphrase, personalise them. e.g. And these words which you command me this day, shall be in my heart. Amen.

Hollow Words

Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; (Isaiah 58:9)

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye have spoken vanity, and seen lies, therefore, behold, I am against you, saith the Lord God. (Ezekiel 13:8)

For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd. (Zechariah 10:2)

False prophets and false religion give people empty comforting lies instead of hard truth. If we refuse to change our speech, to speak about Jesus and about eternal things, God may not give us the blessing of Isaiah 58 to always be there when we call. The only way to be sure of the blessing is to meet its conditions. But to change our habits of conversation so dramatically will be a problem of enormous difficulty, surely I need Jesus' help to even begin.