Verse For the Day

Isaiah 58:6-7 (NIV) "Is this not the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice...Is it not to share your food with the hungry...?"

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Whatever You Do

Matthew 25:42 (NIV)  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink.

There have been times when I've neglected the poor. Maybe I thought I didn't have enough money, or maybe I had the money and chose to spend it in selfish ways. Because I've donated to a certain hunger cause, I've been put on mailings lists for other charities. I receive requests from one or another almost daily. And I've been known to look at envelopes and throw them in the trash without even opening them. It breaks my heart sometimes, but I can't possibly help every cause.


Matthew 25:44 (NIV) ..."Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick in prison, and did not help you?

I've passed beggars on the street and given them nothing, not even a dime. Could one of them have been Jesus?

I've thought to myself, "They'll just use it for drugs." But could one of them have been Jesus?

Matthew 25:45 (NIV) "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me." 

In the Bible, we're told not to judge, but we as humans make judgements all the time. It's very hard not to do so. But I learned from a good friend one way of helping the street people. She gives McDonald's gift certificates. And recently, my son's fiance gave me another way. She posted a picture on facebook of a large zip-topped baggie filled with an individual sized cup of applesauce, some cookies, and cheese filled crackers. Also, toothpaste and a tooth brush. Basically, these bags can be filled with any small sized item you think would be helpful. The photo came with a suggestion of keeping a few bags like this in your car, so when you see a homeless person on the street, you can respond with kindness.

If we try we can be one of those whom Jesus referred to when he said, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25: 40 (NIV)

I want to be part of the solution for the end of world hunger. Don't you? Find some small ways to help the poor, and your reward will be great. I promise.



Have a wonderful and blessed day, and may the Lord hold you in his tender embrace.

2 comments:

  1. Good thoughts, Eve. I think, too, one of the most important things we can do to help the poor is to get involved in some way in attempts to change the social, economic, and political structures that work to benefit the wealthy and further disadvantage those who are poor.

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