God is very clear about taking care of the vulnerable in our society, but many Christians seem to have forgotten about them or have just turned a blind eye. Jesus explained in Matthew 25 how He, the Son of Man, will judge the nations, separating the sheep from the goats. The sheep on His right hand will be blessed by the Father and they will inherit the kingdom prepared for them. However, the goats on His left will be cursed and go into the everlasting fire prepared for them by the devil and his angels. “Why did they face these consequences?” you may ask. Well, it is simple. They saw the King was hungry and they gave Him no food; He was thirsty and they gave Him no drink; He was a stranger and they did not take Him in, naked and they did not clothe Him, sick and in prison and they did not visit Him. They didn’t realize that whatever they did to these people who they considered least among them, they were doing it to Jesus, the King. We should never forget the poor and needy in our society because when we care for them, we show love in action, and we do it for Jesus.
By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18
It may not be comfortable or convenient to help those who seem to be forgotten around us, but it is God’s command. Proverbs 14:31 states that whoever oppresses the poor insults his Maker, but whoever honors Him has mercy on the needy. God made sure to give clear instructions to the Israelites so that the poor and the needy were take care of.
You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand. For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’ Deuteronomy 15:10-11
And when the Israelites did not follow this command. They were severely punished. The Old Testament recounts many instances when God punished Israel for oppressing the poor and the needy instead of looking after them.
Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, and pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, to defile My holy name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. Amos 2:6-8
The people of the land have used oppressions, committed robbery, and mistreated the poor and needy; and they wrongfully oppress the stranger. So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one. Therefore I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; and I have recompensed their deeds on their own heads,” says the Lord God. Ezekiel 22: 29-31
Then the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying, “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Execute true justice, Show mercy and compassion everyone to his brother. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. Let none of you plan evil in his heart against his brother.’ “But they refused to heed, shrugged their shoulders, and stopped their ears so that they could not hear. Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts. “But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations which they had not known. Thus the land became desolate after them, so that no one passed through or returned; for they made the pleasant land desolate.” Zechariah 7:8-14
There is not much more to say. The Word of God speaks for itself. Mistreating the poor and needy, and oppressing the foreigners are not tolerated by God. He hates it when widows and orphans are neglected, therefore, those who are not helping the vulnerable will face His wrath. It is our duty not to forget the forgotten ones in our society.
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