Plan for the Poor

The other day I was driving around and I happened upon a couple sitting just off the roadside.  They were both older, and the lady was in a wheel chair.  She was holding a sign that said, homeless couple, God bless.  I did have an instinct to throw them a buck or two, but then realized, silver and gold had I none.  What I did have was…  well…  not much physically.  I said a prayer for them as I moved on.


I felt guilty a little bit, but what could I do?  I did not really feel pressed to do much of anything, honestly.  Would I not just be enabling them to continue on as they were for rewarding their begging?  Surely there was something they could do besides giving everyone a forlorn stare all day holding a sign.  I also know from experience, what they were doing could be quite lucrative.


I recall one day in the same town being approached by a man looking for a couple dollars so he could get some food.  I was in the same boat really, but willing to share my small amount I scrounged to help a fellow out.  Several hours later my friend and I stumbled across the same man again. He remembered us.  He didn’t need any more money though.  He had over $300 in his pocket just from panhandling.  If he hadn’t been a crackhead, he would have been living on a $100,000 a year gig just begging for money.  All of his money went to crack though and he would be broke again by morning.


Back in Biblical days, there were methods in place to deal with the poor.  The first line of defense was family.  Family was to take care of their own.  I Timothy 5:8 “But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.”  So where was this couples family and why were they not being of any help?  Kids?  Nephews?  Cousins?  It is rare to be devoid of any family, but it is not uncommon that family does not or is not able to take care of its own. 


The second line of defense against poverty, biblically, was the community.  As a rule, folks were to give to the needy.  Proverbs 19: ¹⁷ He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.  The community at large had some responsibility in caring for the poor as well as the family.  2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.


A third line of defense in helping those in poverty lies with the poor person themselves.  A poor person could go gleen in the agricultural fields for what was left over.  Farmers were by rule not allowed to pick up all of the crop, but to leave that which had fallen.  It would then be the responsibility of the poor person to go out and collect what they could to feed themselves.  Leviticus 19: ⁹ And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.¹⁰ And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God.



Our society is not set up in such a way as to really be of help to the poor.  Our families have been split apart by self desires, divorces, changed roles, forced public education, etc. etc… Now-a-days, you might not even know who your family members are.  I was in youth group with someone for two years before I even knew they were my cousin.  Also, our society as a whole has a more selfish spirit.  Take care of number one and survival of the fittest has become our motto.  Let the poor clean up their act, get some education and get a job.  Lastly, where is any of our gleaning in our society?  We don’t set aside anything specifically for the poor.  Our first priority is the dollar and squeezing out every penny.  We have a responsibility to the shareholders.


While I do feel bad that I was not able to help the homeless couple in any meaningful way, I feel even worse for our society that has set itself up, not to be unable, but to be staunchly unwilling to do anything to assist the poor.  Yes, there are some that help, but not enough.  As our economy grows weaker even those few who can and do help are becoming fewer and fewer.  We have handed over the responsibility we should hold to government programs that are woefully inadequate, and inefficient in truly helping anyone, to the point where everyone is becoming equally poor.


We need to have a revival in this nation that brings us back to biblical principles.  Why should it be old fashioned and passé to do good by ones family, community, and country as individuals?  It isn’t just for ancient goat-herders to be kind to the poor and needy.  It isn’t a backwards people that takes care of its family, and I mean extended family, and their needs.  It isn’t just for primitive peoples to expect people to also take a little responsibility for themselves and do something besides being dependent. If we can return to these three biblical principles, we can beat poverty and won’t need any government programs to do it.