People are cheap, especially when it comes to the poor. Volunteer groups report donations are dropping each year – they may receive more in dollars, but that’s because there’s a larger population. The amount per person is less.

The attitude among some, is that government should provide for people in need; however, the government is an indifferent bureaucracy, which has to work within a budget. Its priorities can easily replace the needs of the poor. The government is also “political”: meaning some get help, while others don’t. This is decided by voters or special interest groups.

Government provides the basic services, but these are not enough, because there is also loneliness, abandonment, confusion and abuse to consider. The government doesn’t give dignity. Government assistance creates dependency, where the individual gets used to receiving the basics, and from there he looses his self-respect and his desire to work.

There are some who believe the rich should give money to the poor, because they have more to give. The Bible tells a story of a man who was rich. The man came to the temple and donated a bag of gold, and a little bit later, an old poor-widow arrived and gave a couple of cents. This was all she had. The Scriptures record it was she who was blessed, and not the rich person, because she gave until it hurt.

Some believe the poor are the way they are because they are lazy or weak, but this is just an excuse to not help them. Most poor people were born into a poor family, which means they were disadvantaged from birth. Poor people also live in areas where the schools are inferior, and if they live in countries without free medical care, then they are further disadvantaged. Poor people are malnourished; they simply don’t have the food needed to concentrate in school.

The poor are not any weaker than the rest, because humans everywhere react the same when in despair. If they have no religion and no one to help, then many turn to drugs or alcohol (which is a drug), or gambling or any of the rest. Most of us have never been in this kind of situation, so we think we would react differently, but without Jesus, we wouldn’t.

The poor are stereotyped as being lazy and weak, which defeats them before they even start, because jobs are not made available to them; based on how they are “perceived.”

Generosity is how God combats this evil. The Bible is full of stories and parables about giving.

The first point is, “Whose money is it anyway?” God created everything, and He owns everything; therefore, we have no right to not be generous. In the book of Job, the writer says he arrived in the world with nothing and he will leave the world with nothing: Everything we have is a gift from God.

Psalms 24:1 states:” The earth is the Lords and everything in it.”

In Levitucus 25 God says: “The land is mine.”

In Haggai 2:8 God says, “The silver and the gold is mine.”

In these verses God makes clear how we own nothing; therefore, we are to give generously.

In the book of Genesis, Cain murdered his brother Abel. God then spoke to Cain and asked him where Abel was, and Cain answered that he was not his brother’s keeper. This meant he was not responsible for his brother, which in turn made God angry. God has made us responsible for each other -- especially the poor, and how we honor our responsibility to God, is to give to the poor.

Point number two: We are blessed when we give generously to the poor.

Deuteronomy 8:18 says, “But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth….” From this, we understand that it is God who gives us what we have; therefore, we have to remember this by giving to the poor. We are blessed with goodness, so we must give to the poor to ensure this goodness continues.

Acts 20:35 states: “It is better to give than to receive.” We have all felt happy when we received gifts for Christmas, birthdays or graduations; moreover, we have fun with the gifts for a few years, but then they end up in the garbage: forgotten. Further, we remember who gave us the great gift that we never forgot, and we honor and have good memories of that person. It is better to be remembered for your generosity than to receive a gift.

Luke 6:38: “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into you lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This means you will be given in the same way you give. If you don’t give to the poor, then God won’t give to you. The symbolism is of God giving a huge amount of precious grain into our basket where He packs it in tight and then presses it down hard; however despite that, much of it falls on the ground. This means He gives us more than we could ever need; but, we will receive this on the condition that you are generous to the poor.

II Corinthians 9: 5-15 states: “God loves a cheerful giver.” When you are loved by God, then you are blessed. Give cheerfully, and you will be blessed. It’s as simple as that.

Proverbs 22:9: “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.” The word “food” also means clothes, money, time, support. …

Proverbs 28:27: “He who gives to the poor, lacks nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives curses.” There can be no misunderstanding: to ignore the poor is to anger God.

God tells us that the person who gives to the poor, gives to God.

Giving to the poor can help overcome loneliness and social awkwardness, because when we are generous, others notice this and want to be around us. Further, when we are generous, we usually make friends with others who are the same; and they are usually interesting people with healthy personalities. Generous people are frequently part of useful and social community groups, whose members build their self-esteem through bringing goodness to the poor. Helping those in need makes us feel good and important.

Generosity helps a marriage. We all know people who are stingy, and how difficult they make the lives of all who are around them. Stingy people don’t want to go out and have fun; they want to save their money. This keeps them at home and makes life miserable for those around them. Generosity is not just for the poor, but also for our families. It can be a small unexpected gift or an afternoon picnic or simply listening to your children. It’s better to give than to receive.

Jesus’ life was pure giving, as He healed without receiving payment, preached and received no fee, defended the sick, poor and lonely, and for payment – He was crucified. He gave everything for us. The Bible asks what better thing can a man do, but give his life up for his friend? Jesus gave his life for us. This is giving.

Giving, is to be a private act between the individual and God. We are told in Mathew 6:1-4: “Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ [giving to the poor] in front of men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven ... But when you give to the needy [the poor], do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that when your Father who sees what you do in secret, will reward you.” We must give in secret so we can please God; because if we give in public then we receive the world’s praise, which we don’t want. We want God’s reward.

Mathew 6:19 states: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth [insects] and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In this verse, Jesus is saying we must not build wealth on earth because it will disappear; rather, we must give the money away and build ‘treasures’ in heaven where our wealth will last forever.

In Mathew 18:1 the disciples ask Jesus, “Who is the greatest in heaven?” to which Jesus takes a small child and has the child stand among the group, where he then says: “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name, welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believes in me to sin, it would be better for him…to be drowned in the sea.”

We “welcome the little one” when we feed and clothe the poor, and by doing this, we welcome Jesus. We receive punishment when we ignore the poor, which can cause them to sin. We are responsible for the poor.

In Mathew 19:14 Jesus says, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” To “hinder” the poor means to make it difficult for them to come to Jesus. We must give money to open churches in the poor areas of the world so the poor will not be kept from finding God; and we must not buy products from countries that prevent the poor from getting to church. God keeps a record of our lives, and we will have to explain every action to him on the Day of Judgment.

In Mathew 22:36, the disciples ask Jesus which is the greatest commandment; and in Mathew 22:37 Jesus answers, “Love God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” “To love God” is to care for his people. We must give to the poor.

Mathew 22:39 states: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Our “neighbor,” means our family and friends, strangers, as well as people on the other side of the world. Since we love food, clothing, and shelter ourselves, then we must do the same for the poor.

In Mathew 24:42 Jesus says, “Keep watch [be alert], because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Jesus could return at any moment, so we must be careful. We have to do good at all times, which means giving to the poor.

In Mark 6:30 the Bible records how Jesus fed five thousand people. He had “compassion” (sadness, sympathy) for them because they were “like sheep without a shepherd.” This means they were spiritually lost. He had worked hard all day, yet he wasn’t too tired to feed the people. We must follow his example by never being too tired or busy to help and give to the poor.

In Mark 8:2 the same thing happened where Jesus fed four thousand people. He said, “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have come a long distance.” Jesus never refused to give to the poor.

Luke 9:25 says, “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit [give up] his very self.” Here, Jesus meant there is no point to gain the world’s riches, power and respect, and yet to lose heaven. Our wealth will be a voice against us on the Day of Judgment, which makes the poor blessed.

Luke 16:19 tells the story of a wealthy man and a beggar. The wealthy man had the finest clothes, lived in a mansion and ate the best food, while the beggar was covered in sores. Each day, the beggar had to live the humiliation of being laid at the gate of the wealthy man’s mansion where he ate the crumbs from the wealthy man’s floor.

The men finally died, and the beggar went to heaven, while the wealthy man went to hell. In hell, the wealthy man saw the Prophet Abraham up in heaven with the beggar by his side, so he as asked Abraham to help him. Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus [the name of the beggar] received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.” This is a chilling reminder for us to help the poor.

In John 13:5 Jesus poured water into a basin and washed the feet of His disciples. He did this to show how we must become the servants of the poor. He is Jesus, the Son of God, yet He humbled himself by washing his disciples’ feet. This symbolizes how we should see the poor: We are their servants and must look after their needs. This means giving.

After Jesus rose from the dead he visited his disciples. Peter had betrayed (hurt) Jesus and felt terrible about it. Jesus spoke to Peter and asked him if he (Peter) loved Jesus more than the rest. Peter answered that he did, so Jesus told Peter to “Feed my lambs.” The poor are the “Lambs.” Anyone with a physical, emotional and/or spiritual need is someone who must be fed by us.

Jesus asked Peter again if he loved Jesus more than the rest, and again Peter said he did, so Jesus told Peter to “Take care of my sheep.” The message was the same: To look after the poor.

Jesus then asked the same question a third time, and Peter answered the same, so Jesus n told Peter: “Feed my sheep.” Jesus made it clear that our responsibility is to give to the poor.

The book of Acts records what happened after Jesus rose to heaven. The disciples shared everything with each other, looked after the needs of the poor, and kept no wealth among them.

To give generously is to honor and repay the past. There were millions of soldiers and civilians who gave their lives to keep the world free. We owe generosity to their descendants.

Our ancestors lived through horrible religious persecution, so we owe it to their descendants to keep the churches – full, open and funded. Church roofs and windows don’t get fixed by themselves, somebody has to fix them, and somebody has to pay for them. You and I are somebody. You and I have to pay for them. The church is God’s home on earth and we are its caretakers.

The church is always there when we need it; it’s corny to say, but it’s like an old friend. The church kept us together through war and the Depression, it fed and defended the poor, and it raised the alarm against injustice. We owe the church our generosity. When the new immigrant arrives and is alone and confused, the church is there, and when natural and man-made disasters strike, the church steps in to help the suffering. The church needs our giving. To give to a legitimate church that helps the poor, is to give to God. However, we must do our research: the church must believe that the Bible is the word of God, and it must be God centered. Please, pray to God for guidance on where to give.

On a personal level, we all remember somebody who was kind to us when we were sick or lost our job or had personal problems. God sent these people to us when we were down, so we owe it to God to be his representatives to others in trouble. We must give our time to those who are suffering.

Our ancestors walked and rode thousands of miles across the prairie and desert to make the nation we have; moreover, many died from their travel or had hard lives once they settled. We owe it to each other to be kind to those who suffer, just as our ancestors were kind to each other. By helping each other, they survived. The Bible says: “United we stand, divided we fall.” Our great nation was built by Christians who gave.

We cannot think of our life as one of financial isolation, meaning, “I make the money, so I keep it!” We don’t live in isolation, but are all connected. We have to give to keep balance, because if we feed the poor kid today, then he works and pays taxes tomorrow. Helping the poor is a great investment. If we welcome the new immigrant with love and respect and if we help him/her get a job and a place to live, then we produce a good citizen. Giving returns and benefits us.

Giving generously simply feels good. When we help others we feel we are useful in this world, and we know that God honors us by giving us responsibility. We feel part of God’s purpose.

In conclusion, Mathew 25:34 sums up everything. A group of godly people are lined up waiting to get into heaven, and Jesus speaks to them. “Come you who are blessed by your Father [God]; take your inheritance [reward], the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. ”

The godly people said to Jesus, ”Lord. When did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? When died we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?”

Jesus replied,” I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least these brothers of mine [the poor], you did for me.” A second group did not help Jesus’ “brothers” so they were sent to hell. What we do for the poor, we do for Jesus. Give to the poor.

God bless you.