32 The poor will see and be glad — you who seek God, may your hearts live!
33 The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. Psalm 69:32-33

This is certainly a different emotion for the poor than we’ve seen before. They are glad because of what we do in reverence to God. As we reach out to the poor, God smiles. Of course I can’t back that up from any verse, but the entire Bible echoes the sentiment. A lot can be determined about our character by how we treat the poor.

I don’t know everything there is to know about the Bible, not in the least. But if there is one thing that is apparent to me it’s this: God speaks about the poor quite often. He doesn’t address the political or social leanings of the poor, but instead talks about our response (or lack thereof) to the poor.

Often, though, we need to make an effort to minister to the poor. That ministry can be as simple as giving someone money for food or as complex as feeding an entire family in need. I don’t believe God is asking us to solve poverty, since Jesus Himself said we’d always have the poor among us.

Perhaps He’s just asking us to notice.