14 The wicked draw the sword
and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken. Psalm 37:14-15

It’s interesting that in many of these passages, David clearly equates the wealthy with being wicked. Not much has changed through the years. The super wealthy take advantage of the poor and the needy mainly by ignoring them or by making them a permanent underclass. Because we live in a wealthy society, most reading this post are rich – perhaps not in the super wealthy or “filthy rich” category, but rich by most of the world’s standards.

We also live in a society in which the Government tends to provide for the poor and needy through tax dollars. It’s an extremely inefficient way to help the poor. We can certainly do better than to just pass off the responsibility of helping the poor and needy to government-run agencies and programs. Part of that argument is valid, but throughout the Old and New Testament, we are commanded to help the poor. It’s not the government’s job, but ours.

Why?

Well, it’s far too easy to send money to a group and have them do the work that we should be doing. It takes sacrifice and courage to meet the poor and needy. It takes personal contact from loving and caring people. The poor and needy have always been on the Lord’s heart. If it’s on His heart, it probably should be on ours as well.