Are Christians Doing Enough to Help the Poor?
The Bible says:
"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6:10).
Christians have a long history of striving to obey that command. I spent 9 years of my life working in healthcare (see My Ice Breaker). Hospitals and nursing homes today depend on private insurance and government funding, but it was not always so. I think if you look at the history of both hospitals and nursing homes you will find Christians behind most of them. The same is probably true with orphanages and homeless shelters.
Today, Christians continue to support hospitals, nursing homes, orphanages, homeless shelters on a voluntary basis. But they also support these through their taxes as well. So just how much more would our non-Christian neighbors want us to do for the poor?
And what poor should we give to? Should we give money to Americans on welfare who live a lifestyle far above that of many of the poorer countries in the world? See my post: America's Poor in Comparison to the Rest of the World). Go to some of the poorer villages in Africa and South America or India, and see how many of their poor have EBT (food stamp) cards, Televisions with 100+ cable channels, laptops and smart phones and cars and warm, dry places to stay, free education, and access to the level of medical care that even the poorest in this country have. And if they run out of money or their EBT card, there are food banks sprinkled all across this country - many of which are staffed and funded by Christian volunteers!
But I agree that Christians need to do more for the poor, What the poor in this country, and all across the world need most, is to hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. So, with that in mind, I'd like to ask you to share the following sermon with as many poor people as you can find:
Compel them to Come in, by Charles Hadden Spurgeon
