Those In Need

1 John 3:16-17

If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? (1 John 3:17)

IN THE YEAR 403, Augustine visited Carthage at the same time that priests of the Roman imperial cult gathered to celebrate their loyalty to the emperor with chariot races, gladiator contests, and public banquets. He preached a series of sermons there, some of which pointed out the misplaced priorities of the culture. The rich, both non-Christian and Christian, were investing their fortunes in entertainers, while the poor remained invisible to them. Even worse, they were investing their souls in superficial pursuits.^a

John suggested that the love of God within us moves us not only to see the material needs of others but to respond to them with compassion. Of course, in this day and age, we can see around the world through a television or computer screen. The world’s needs are always in front of us, and we would soon be overwhelmed trying to contribute to them all. But the point is clear: If we pour out our resources on things that have no eternal value while neglecting those in desperate need, we are missing something vital in our relationship with God. His compassion is not flowing through us as it should. We are not deeply in touch with his Spirit.

God has a heart for the poor. Numerous passages of Scripture make that clear: the law of Moses, the wisdom of Psalms and Proverbs, the judgments of the Prophets, the apostolic writings of the New Testament, and all sorts of stories and references in between. Caring for the poor is one of the more prominent themes of redemptive history, yet it is hardly prominent in the preaching and teaching of modern Christianity in prosperous countries. That has to change. Giving to the poor is not a political philosophy, and it is more than cleaning out our closets and giving away what we don’t want anymore. It’s a work of God, and it reflects something of who he is to a world skeptical of Christian priorities.

{Lord, you are concerned for the poor, and you urge your people again and again to give to them. Sensitize my heart toward the poor. Fill me with compassion. Move me to give what I can. Amen.