Why Do Christians Need To Care For The Poor

Introduction I for one am a single mother of two girls. For those of us who have children, we do not want to see our kids become poor. Being poor alone does not really express the complexities of human existence. In general many may see this measured in terms of status, income and access to goods. In order to flourish as a human we need to understand a few items such as the history, how to cherish character, challenge culture and serve the world. All of these items together will help understand the term poor.

Historical Context/Contemporary Overview We are called to care for the poor. The bible mentions the words poor and poverty 446 times! Several principles are found in the bible under the following passages. I Chronicles 29:622, Luke

Having concern for the poor and show gesture to them. It must reveal the unjust structures that prevent the poor from rising above and teach the need to have a non-materialistic outlook in life. Churches can help the poor and homeless by turning basements or meeting rooms into night time shelters for the homeless and organize food pantries. Christians should support and promote economic systems that meet human needs. In order for this to happen the Church needs help. They need volunteers in order to run these organizations. Christians need to step up and be part of their Church. This takes work and is not easy. There are many times where we find people supporting the idea of helping and throwing money at it, but this takes more than that. They need to be part of the community and give time. Churches and Christians can also set up support groups for, single parents, care givers for family members, military, children who have depression or have been bullied. Being part of the Church and knowing we can turn to them no matter where we are would relieve some stress. There are many ways we can help the poor. It is getting Christians to put the time in their own Church so the Churches can support these items and