Friday, February 12, 2016

The Least of These, My Brothers

Psalm 41

Feb. 12

“Blessed are they who consider the poor, for the Lord will deliver them in time of trouble.” Being kind to the poor is a given in Christianity. Isn’t it? We give regularly to meet the needs of the needy. Or do we? A beatitude is a verse with the word “blessed” in it, which essentially means “happy.” The word implies that you will receive a blessing from God. We have benevolence envelopes mailed each month to the homes of our members, but sadly most end up in the trash.

Beatitudes in the psalms are beautiful but especially when they are echoed in the Beatitudes found in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

The Bible does not glorify the poor and needy. We can be the most greedy and selfish when we are the most needy and wealthless. The Bible commends and commands all of us, poor and rich alike, to give to those who are in need. No one is exempt from helping the poor.

Why care for the poor? It honors God (Prov. 14:31), God will repay us (Prov. 19:17), God will answer our prayers (Prov. 21:13), it is commanded (Ps. 82:4, Luke 14:21) practiced by the early church (Rom. 15:26), and in so doing, we do so as unto Christ (Matt. 25:40).

Consider giving to benevolence by clicking here. If you are a member of FBC Killeen, click here.