Think of a dollar bill. What can you buy with that? Could you live on it? Yet, today, over one billion people on Planet Earth live in absolute poverty, earning less than a dollar a day. Then too, nearly one billion people go hungry and 40,000 children a day die from hunger or hunger-related diseases.
Poverty is a big problem, a very big problem.
In my last blog, I mentioned the poverty that I experienced as a child. I will never forget one Christmas in particular. Mom was able to put together a Christmas dinner of beans and potatoes – and we were thankful for that. My grandmother had sent us $15. That was the extent of the money that we had for food, gifts, everything for a family of seven. Sad.
The thing that stands out in my mind is, we lived next door to a church. A church which did absolutely nothing to help.
Listen to these verses of Scripture:
Think of it this way. If I am poor, that isn’t just my problem, that is a problem for the church too. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:31 (The Message), “You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you're kind to the poor, you honor God.”
The Redeemed Team
- In the United States, one child in six lives in poverty, one child in five is born poor, one in three will be poor at some point in their childhood.
- One poor family in seven lives in housing which is severely physically inadequate, such as having no hot water, no electricity, no toilet, no bathtub or shower.
- Poverty rates among children in single-mother families are particularly striking:
Poverty is a big problem, a very big problem.
In my last blog, I mentioned the poverty that I experienced as a child. I will never forget one Christmas in particular. Mom was able to put together a Christmas dinner of beans and potatoes – and we were thankful for that. My grandmother had sent us $15. That was the extent of the money that we had for food, gifts, everything for a family of seven. Sad.
The thing that stands out in my mind is, we lived next door to a church. A church which did absolutely nothing to help.
Listen to these verses of Scripture:
- Deuteronomy 15:10-11 (The New Living Translation) says, “Give freely without begrudging it, and the LORD your God will bless you in everything you do. There will always be some among you who are poor. That is why I am commanding you to share your resources freely with the poor…”
- Psalm 140:12, “I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy and executes justice for the poor.”
- Proverbs 14:21 (The Message) adds, “It's criminal to ignore a neighbor in need, but compassion for the poor—what a blessing!”
Think of it this way. If I am poor, that isn’t just my problem, that is a problem for the church too. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 14:31 (The Message), “You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you're kind to the poor, you honor God.”
The Redeemed Team
