BLESS THE POOR AND GOD WILL BLESS YOU
From The HeartPublish date: 03/24/2002
He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, and He will pay back what he has given. Proverbs 19:17 NKJV
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19:17 NIV
When we obey God and are kind to the poor, it is as if we are lending to the Lord, Himself, and because of this, He will reward us and pay us back what we have given. God likes to have an even playing field. He is not satisfied until everyone is equally blessed. If one has a lot and another has very little, then it is up to the one who has a lot to bless the one who has little.
There are those who are poor because they are lazy, but there are many others who are poor because of circumstances beyond their control. God’s will for us is that if we see a need and we have what it takes to meet that need, that we should meet that need.
27 Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. 28 Do not say to your neighbor, "Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow"-- when you now have it with you. Proverbs 3:27-28 NIV
I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Psalms 140:12 NIV
21 He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. 31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:21+31 NIV
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered. Proverbs 21:13 NIV
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses. Proverbs 28:27 NIV
Whether we deliberately oppress the poor or whether we just ignore them, we show contempt for God, Who made them, and we are sinning in God’s eyes. If we ignore the poor, then we will be ignored when we cry out in our time of need. If we give to the poor, we will lack nothing, but if we close our eyes, we bring many curses on ourselves. God loves every one of us and His desire for us is that we would all be equally blessed.
We have an opportunity to be used as an extension of His arm to those in need, when we choose to give and help and bless those who have a need. When you give – you become God’s hands on the earth – doing God’s will on the earth. You might think that that is a radical thing to say, but 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that each one of us is either an organ or a limb in the body of Christ. You need to get the revelation that you are God’s child, that you are part of His body and that you are responsible to do the things that He would do if He were here walking with us.
Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8 NIV
He is the source and the supplier of every need on the earth. We are the hands that take what we have been given by God and pass it on to those whom He tells us to bless. Many times the need is overwhelming to us and so we do nothing, but we must remember that God has not called us, as individuals, to provide for the whole world, but only to meet the need of the individual He places in front of us.
If we have the means and the opportunity to help and if at that point we turn our back, God will not be pleased with us at all. He knows what you are capable of and He knows what is out of your reach, but sometimes He wants us to just stretch our faith to believe Him to be able to bless others with even the little that is in our hand. If we will give even the little we have to help and bless another, then God will make sure that we, too, are blessed and more than adequately provided for.
A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. Proverbs 22:9 NIV
He who increases his wealth by exorbitant interest amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor. Proverbs 28:8 NIV
1 Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 5 Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. 9 He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor, his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor. Psalms 112:1+3+5+9 NIV