Justice for the Poor: A Matter of the Heart – The Kingdom Curriculum XVIII (7)

Justice for the Poor: A Matter of the Heart

“You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.” Deuteronomy 15:10

Care for poor, extending to the poor the justice God intends for them, is ultimately a matter of the heart. It comes down to how we regard the poor, whether we truly consider them our neighbors and ourselves their servants for Jesus’ sake. In ancient Israel the people of God did not have the heart to obey Him (Deut. 5:29); thus, care for the poor and love for neighbors were often neglected. In fact, this is one of the reasons Jesus’ ministry stood out so starkly from that of the religious leaders of His day: He actually took the Law of God as His guide in loving the needy and poor, while the religious leaders of His day did not.

Believers in Jesus Christ have received a “new heart,” one open to the teaching, leading, and empowering work of the Spirit of God. That work relates directly to obeying the Law of God, not as a means of salvation, but as a handbook for loving God and neighbor (Ezek. 36:26, 27; Matt. 22:34-40). If we are truly filled with the Spirit and have the heart of Jesus beating in us, we will take an active concern, not only in caring for the poor, but in learning and obeying all the counsel of God in His Word, beginning with His Law.

How do we thus guard our hearts on behalf of the poor? First, pray for poor people daily, that the grace of God will reach them at the point of their needs through the loving ministries of God’s obedient people. Second, encourage your church to take a more active role in providing services for the local poor. Meet with your pastor and ask about your church’s diaconal ministry to its own members. How can you help? Explore with your pastor ways of joining with other churches to be ready to meet larger needs on behalf of the poor in your community. Make sure that you yourself are a model of how to regard the poor and care for them as the Lord leads.

Take an interest in poor parts and peoples of the world. Discover which Christian agencies are at work there and consider becoming a part of their ministry, or helping your church to do so. If we have a heart for God and His Law, we will have a heart for the poor and needy. And, having a heart for them–as Jesus did–we will not rest until we have discovered every practical means by which we may care for the poor in the Name of the One Who became poor on our behalf, that we, through His poverty, might become rich in eternal blessings.

Reading and meditating on the Law of God is every believer’s duty and privilege (Ps. 1). Order your copy of The Law of God, a compendium of the commandments and precepts of God’s Law, by going to www.MyParuchia.com, point your browser to “Publications,” then click on the drop-down option, “Waxed Tablet Publications.”

–

In the Gates is a devotional series on the Law of God by Rev. T.M. Moore.

T.M. Moore is editor of the Worldview Church. He serves as dean of the Centurions Program of the Wilberforce Forum and principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He is the author or editor of twenty books, and has contributed chapters to four others. His essays, reviews, articles, papers, and poetry have appeared in dozens of national and international journals, and on a wide range of websites. His most recent books are The Ailbe Psalter and The Ground for Christian Ethics (Waxed Tablet).

Scripture quotations in this article are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, (c) copyright 2001,2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: The use of a translation other than the Authorised Version in an article does not constitute an endorsement in whole or in part by The Christian Observer.