On a missions trip to India, we visited the city of Kolkata, (Calcutta), a mega-city with millions of people, many of whom are living in poverty. As we walked the streets, we had to step around people sleeping on the sidewalk. Once we encountered a whole family living in a tent made from a tarpaulin spread across the sidewalk. One member of our group talked to that family and heard the tragic story of how their good life had collapsed and they ended up homeless, living in a tent on the street. Their sad story is not unique. Calcutta was the home of Mother Teresa who devoted her life to caring for the poor.
I learned something about God from a devotional book my wife and I have been reading this year. When God said, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and compassion on whom I have compassion” (Exodus 33:19), he was declaring that mercy and compassion are inherent in his nature—just as we know that love is inherent in his nature. I already knew that God is a compassionate God, but I hadn’t known that the Hebrew word for compassion is closely related to the word for womb. In other words, God’s compassion could be translated as “motherly compassion”: how a mother feels for her child. One scholar even translated Jeremiah 31:20 as “’I will have motherly compassion on him,’ says the Lord.”
I like to think that God looks down on a family sleeping on the streets of Calcutta with motherly compassion! Therefore, I should have motherly compassion for the homeless I encounter in American cities. In fact, when we hear of needy people in America or around the world: people suffering from disease, or hunger due to famine, or victims of war or crime, or victims of injustice; it is good to imagine God watching over all of them with motherly compassion.
The Bible teaches that God’s people should also care for the poor, including the weak, the disabled, widows, orphans, prisoners, the elderly, foreigners, and, in general, anyone in need. Why should we do this? Because God is the protector of the poor: “Happy is the one who cares for the poor; the Lord will save him in a day of adversity” (Psalm 41:1).
Doesn’t God love everybody equally? Why does he show a special concern for the poor? The poor are often victims of injustice or of circumstances beyond their control, and they may have limited ability to help themselves. But they are the neighbors we are to love as ourselves. This also includes foreigners: “When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33-34; Luke 10:2537). Notice that God expects his people to have empathy for the needy because we have all been needy—either now, or in the past.
The Bible gives instructions for how the poor should be cared for. If possible, relatives should care for widows and orphans. Relatives should redeem (buy back) those whom poverty has forced into servitude. Every third year the tithe was to be given to the local Levites, foreigners, fatherless and widows (Deuteronomy 14:28). Jesus’ disciples had a fund to give to the poor (John 13:29), and the Apostle Paul considered helping the poor as part of his ministry (Galatians 2:10).
The strongest biblical statement on caring for the needy was Jesus’ instruction to a rich man and to his disciples to sell all of one’s possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (Matthew 19:21; Luke 12:33). Selling all and giving all may sound extreme, but God tells us to be generous to the poor in order to deal with three serious problems: caring for the needy, greed, and misplaced treasures.
Meeting needs: “If any one of you has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in you?” (1 John 3:17) Overcoming greed: Jesus said, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15) Also, the tenth commandment: “Do not covet.”
Misplaced treasures: “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21) In the book of Acts we read that the early church took Jesus’ teaching on selling everything literally. They sold their property and gave the proceeds to distribute to the needy (Acts 4:32-37). If we choose not to take Jesus literally, the question for us then is how do we show compassion for the poor? How do we resist the sin of greed? And how do we invest in heavenly treasures?
Throughout scripture we read of God’s motherly compassion for the poor and his expectation that his people will share this compassion and act upon it. As Paul said, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)
Greg Giles is a published author, who, along with his wife Jean, has embraced the call to serve and teach around the globe. Their life together has included missionary work in Liberia, Bangladesh, teaching in China, and raising a family in Bemidji, Minnesota. Between global travels and local commitments, including serving as superintendent of Corn Bible Academy and their current part-time roles at Corn Heritage Village, the Gileses have found “home” in many places; yet, they now happily reside in retirement in Cordell. Please visit his website at reflections-on-wisdom.com.