“Be careful not to look down on these little ones,” Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 18:10.

Who are the “little ones” of whom Jesus speaks? They are, as His behaviour illustrates, the weak, unlearned and untrained, wounded and vulnerable.

Why are these “little ones” so important? Because, as Jesus explains, “. . . Their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father.” (Matthew 18:10)

Because the angels of these “little ones” see the face of God, we should not look down on them. Instead, we should cherish these “little ones” with tenderness only the Holy Spirit can motivate. Jesus says the “little ones” are the weak and unlearned, wounded and vulnerable: the broken-hearted, the sick, the lonely, the marginalised, the misunderstood, the mentally-ill, the divorced, the alcoholic, the homeless, the drug addict…. They are all around us. The church needs to take the words of Jesus seriuosly and not look down on the ‘little ones’ as one day we will have to give an account to God for our behaviour towards them.

May we be moved by Jesus’ Spirit of truth to cherish the “little ones” of all generations. Why? Because their angels in heaven see the face of the Father.

 From Brandt:

‘Something has happened here in Lakeland Florida that is a little difficult to explain. After my arrest and trying to continue not just to minister to, but befriend and meet the needs of the beautiful folk we have met here, our little potluck community parties started to get a little too big to hold in my bus in the walmart parking lot (which is conveniently located across the street from Ignited Church). The night I got arrested, some kids from Tampa drove down and worshiped with Max and James in the bus, and slowly every night it got bigger.

Pastor Adam Mayfield of Journey Church, and Rev. Fr. Wade Fahnestock of First Christian Church joined our little shindig on the friday night after my release, along with some of our homeless brothers and sisters and a few kids we met at the “outpouring”. It was amazing to see all of these different personalities come together in union. It truly started to look like the Kingdom of God. Pastor Adam then told us that we could park the bus at his church office. Journey Church rents the office from a local baptist so he told me that he wasnt sure if they would take issue with us being here, but we could park and meet until they did lol. We eventually met the youth pastor and pastor of the local baptist church and they loved what we were doing and reassured us that our being there was ok. Then it just started to get chaotic.

People would just show up. The homeless in the camps near Ignited came alive. God started to truly work on their hearts and they began to come around every day. Its started with three smelly kids on a bus, and now I just cant even explain what its beginning to become. After the we made the front page of The Ledger explaining where we were meeting every night, people started to show up. Tons of people, driving hours and even flying in to be a part of this, whatever “this” is. 

Just yesterday I was being interviewed by a fellow and he was asking how we get funded for what we do. It just so happens some guy drove up to the church office, told me that God was on our side and he told him to give me this (this being a wad of cash). James told the guy asking us about our finances, “It just shows up, thats how”. And its been like that every since. About twenty minutes after that happened, an elderly couple walked up asking everyone for me. They told me that they were from Lexington Kentucky and have been walking around from church to church asking for help with a hotel room and the churches told them to ask me. These big churches sending them to ole homeless brandt; luckily God knows our needs and continues to supply them. Needless to say, there has been small but beautiful miracles everyday.

Stories of great injustice, stories of wonderful acts of God, stories from the rich and the poor and everyone in between are to be found in this little office. Firemen and college students, middle age and middle class folks, families with five kids; they all are just showing up due to the urge of the spirit and a newspaper article. We are family. In Matthew 12 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Then He pointed at His disciples and said, “These are my mothers and brothers. Anyone who does the will of My father in Heaven is My brother and sister and brother.” We truly are family. People are bring all they have to be shared among everyone. When the spirit moves, there is no rich, poor, homeless, etc. God see no class lines, nationality, race, economic status. He sees right into the heart of the broken and recognizes a child; a reflection of Himself, made in His image and likeness, fearfully and wonderfully made.

Everyone is welcomed to come and everyone is welcomed to share, whether that be a tuna casserole (homemade or “rescued” from the trash), or a story, whether beautiful or heartbreaking. We have been having wonderful community potlucks at six, and then amazing spontaneous worship after (because we have no music that we don’t make up from the songs of our hearts), and then candlelight bible studies. Its lead by no man, and everyone’s input is just as valuable and encouraged. We just talk and discuss and laugh and sing and love for hours. The Spirit of God is our only leader. The “homeless” call me pastor and I chuckle at such ridiculous claims

This morning the City of Lakeland showed up knocking on the door of the office and told of a complaint that they received about the bus being parked. They insisted that it was a commercial vehicle (which in reality its a registered and insured mobile home), and that I was breaking zoning laws. What we found out is that a nearby church has a daycare and the homeless that spend their time became a concern, which we completely understand. Hate, but understand. That last few hours we have been telling our wood dwelling brothers and sisters not to come to the office, and that we were seeking God and looking into a place to move the bus and our amazing community shindigs that God has continually attended faithfully. To be quite honest, I cant expect this sort of thing not to happen, and its pretty amusing because we truly are starting to see a resemblance to the “early church”. We have no place to rest our heads. God is moving, yet we are continually on the run. As Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6 – “We are well known, but we are treated as unknown. Our hearts ache, but we ALWAYS have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything“. Welcome to the ridiculously offbeat family of God.

I continue to thank you for your prayers and support. There are a million things that we could use to continue to minister to the needs of this community and the broken people in it, but mainly and most importantly, your prayers are most valuable. God has been leading us from the beginning, and this is just a part of the plan. If you feel God calling you to come and be a part of “this”, we would love nothing more.

As I mentioned earlier, there was a beautiful family with five adorable kids that showed up two nights ago with beans and rice and more smiles then we thought we would be able to contain. It seemed like what we were missing, after all Jesus had a thing for children. As they ate in the hallway, the kids continued to spill rice onto the carpet and then on top of it all, step on the rice accidentally and smush it into the carpet. Being the ridiculous clean freak I am, I spazzed. It was then that God showed me that this “revival of sorts” was a “dirty carpet revival”. That He is not only spilling rice on the carpets of the comfortable, but smushing it in. Carpets aren’t for good looks, their for foot traffic. Forget the hot burning coal, we want smushed ricey carpets. Thank you Lord for all of your love. Become a part of what God is doing, in spirit and in truth.’

In what can be termed lyrical theology, Jesus for President poetically weaves together words and images to sing (rather than dictate) its message. It is a collaboration of Shane Claiborne’s writing and stories, Chris Haw’s reflections and research, and art and design.

Drawing upon the work of biblical theologians, the lessons of church history, and the examples of modern-day saints and ordinary radicals, Jesus for President stirs the imagination of what the Church could look like if it placed its faith in Jesus instead of Caesar.

A fresh look at Christianity and empire, Jesus for President transcends questions of “Should I vote or not?” and “Which candidate?” by thinking creatively about the fundamental issues of faith and allegiance. It’s written for those who seek to follow Jesus, rediscover the spirit of the early church, and incarnate the Kingdom of God.

Shane talking about ‘Jesus for President’

Go Jesus!

Jesus was great. He cared about the ‘little people’ the weak, the uneducated, the outcast, the lonely and broken. He really couldn’t stand the ‘religious’ folk – the Pharisees, who appeared to have it altogether and walked all over the little people. The way they talked down to them and devalued them because they seemed so unimportant. He hated the way they behaved then and He still does hate the way ‘religious folk’ in church create their own man made rules and insist things are done their way at the expense of the weak and those on the edge who have no way of reaching their mark of acceptability. He hates the way the religious folk have their own little friendship circles which are closely guarded to stop undesirables getting in. He hates the way the religious folk lord it over, step over, step on and ignore the plight of the little people – today.

It’s just as bad if not worse in your average church today. Yes it’s more subtle but it’s as rife as ever. The rich, educated, middle-classes have the power and the wealth and the say so at the expense of the poor, uneducated and outcast. They claim to ‘see’ but are blind which can be seen by their actions. It’s all made to look completely acceptable. Everyone is ‘nice’ to those on the edge, they are polite and offer to pray etc but don’t include those kind of people in their social circles and don’t give them any value or worth. Jesus said people who call themselves ‘christian’ but show little or no compassion for the widow,the fatherless, the outcast, the lonely and ignored, the poor, the homeless and the desperate were not really in his Kingdom at all. (Matt 25:31-46.)

 If Jesus stepped into your average church today I believe he would shout at those who profess to be his and  live self centred, moral, upright and outwardly ‘good’ lives but refuse to make any sacrifice for their brother in need. Refuse to show any real compassion or love for the  lost, the poor and marginalised. Not only that but they pile heavy burdens on the ‘little people’ with their rules and expectations which they can’t ever hope to meet. These expectations keep the poor and marginalised folk out of church and give a bad example of what God is like.

 It’s the way to poverty.

 Not an easy way, but God’s way, the way of the cross.’ – Jean Vanier, L’Arche Community.

…..almost to the point of prejudice-He [Jesus] ignored all those who are high and mighty and wealthy in the world in favor of the weak and meek and lowly. He did this even in the moral sphere, ignoring the just for sinners, and in the spiritual sphere, formally ignor­ing Israel for the Gentiles. It was to the latter group and not the for­mer that He found Himself called. It was among the latter and not the former that He expected to find the eyes and ears that God had opened, and therefore the men of good-pleasure of Luke 2:14.

Jackie Pullinger who works with drug addicts in Hong Kong believes that God has a special place in his heart for the poor and shows up powerfully in their lives to defend their cause – which is entirely biblical. It is so clear from reading the Bible that care and compassion for the poor naturally overflows from the heart of anyone whose life has been transformed by the Holy Spirit. If we ask God he will show us a way to reach out and serve the poor around us. There are so many opportunities in every community for outreach to the poor and marginalised.Just befriending one person whom you would not normally socilaise with and including them in your life would make Gods heart sing. If every Christian took the time to really study what the Bible has to say concerning Gods partiality towards the poor we could very soon have a revival in our churches.

Church has become a safe place where we nurture our marriages, where we hunt for the ‘perfect’ mate with the perfect background, where we nurture our friendships with other people like us, where we nurture our relationship with God through Bible Studies, 24 hour prayer relays, meals and socials together.Of course these things are ‘good’ but only when practised with a view to reaching out and to self giving. Church is also seen as a place where we give our children a nice, safe, tidy, clean environment to grow up in the faith in – but what faith? The faith of self preservation, the faith of self gratification, self improvement and self indulgence. The faith of ‘I will only mix with my own kind’ and enjoy the benefits of the safety, prosperity and ease of living which this affords me. The faith of ‘I will maintain a blindness to the suffering masses, and satisfy my conscience by doing a ‘good deed’ every now and then.’ Is that really what we want for our kids? I don’t want that for mine. It’s shallow, destructive and elitist – but the accepted norm within church circles.

Church today is a million miles form the Church the New Testament speaks of where the needs of the poor were paramount and Christianity was about selfless giving and not self gratification. Acts 2:44 ‘All the believers were gathered together and had everything in common.Selling their possessions and goods they gave to everyone as he had need.’ The Bible envisaged a group of Christians sharing their lives with the poor and broken, feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, binding up the broken hearted and sacrificing ‘ the good life’ for the lives of those less fortunate. To this kind of community God says he will add to their number every day. (Acts 2:47) I’m not proposing we all move in together but it would be nice if we could be more generous both with our possessions our time and our money, hold them lightly and give where there is a need.

The church today often claims to be a ‘ family’ but in my experience the family does not ‘include’ the poor/marginalised. I see a prevailing attitude of me, me, me. What I think I deserve and what I think God is going to give me because I’m moral and upright. This makes God want to ‘spew’ (Rev 3:16) -People who profess to belong to Christ but act in the above manner, God says he will ‘throw up’
This is the very opposite of a true christian heart which says:

‘I will lay it all down for you God and for your Kingdom to come into my life and work through it. If necessary I will embrace suffering, lonliness,brokeness, disappointment and loss for you Jesus. However you require me to beused for the building of your Kingdom – I submit.’

Church to the poor feels like a ‘middle class’ club to which they have no part of and no understanding of. Most of the poor disenfranchised and marginalised people in the UK do not go to church and if they do they soon realise it’s not somewhere where they will ever feel at home. They know instinctively their views will not be heard, they will not be included – well only superficially, they will be made to feel small and even more insignificant than their broken and decimated lives already make them feel – they don’t’ stay.

NB Jesus was a friend of sinners (Matt11:19) ‘Friend’ implies: A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade. Jesus wants us to be friends of sinners to lead them to the cross, to love them and lay down our lives and comforts for them – as he did.

Deut. 26:5-9. The Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to… this land flowing with milk and honey.

Luke 4:16-21. And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read… “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD… Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Ps. 140:12. I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and justice for the poor.
Is. 25:4. For You have been a defense for the helpless, a defense for the needy in his distress.

Ps. 10:14. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan… O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed.

Is 41:17. The afflicted and needy are seeking water, but there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst. I, the LORD, will answer them Myself, as the God of Israel I will not forsake them.

Luke 6:20-21. Blessed are you who are poor, for yours in the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.

James 2:5. Did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Commentary: I would say that many western Christians attitude to the poor is mostly disdain and fear. They’re dangerous and different. Sometimes there’s a suspicion that their condition is their own fault, that they’re simply lazy or inferior. Other Christians while being are more kind-hearted, prefer not to look at the poor too closely; it’s depressing, and they’re surely not fun people to be with, and it can seem to much to handle.
These attitudes are a world away from God’s attitudes, as described in these verses. Neediness arouses compassion in God– and action.
We may think: “Of course God loves the poor; he loves everybody.” But it’s not so simple as that; God’s character is presented as a model for our own. If God values the poor, we have to think about what that means for us.

God’s commands concerning the poor:

This section collects some specific commands from Old and New Testaments on serving the poor.

Deut. 15:7. If there is a poor man among you, one of your brothers, in any of the towns of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand to your poor brother; but you shall freely open your hand to him, and generously lend him sufficient for his need in whatever he lacks.

Deut. 26:12. When you have finished paying the complete tithe of your increase in the third year, the year of tithing, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the orphan and the widow, that they may eat in your towns, and be satisfied.

Lev. 19:19ff. Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God.

Prov. 31:8ff. [Commandment to kings.] Open your mouth for the dumb, for the rights of all the unfortunate. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.

Is. 58:66ff. Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke? Is it not to divide your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into the house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Jer. 22:3. Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.

Luke 12:33. “Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys.”

Luke 3:11. And [John the Baptist] would answer and say to them, “Let the man with two tunics share with him who has none, and let him who has food do likewise.”

Mt. 5:42. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.

Commentary: The message here is really very simple: help the needy. It’s not hard to understand; it’s just hard to do.
And the message is continuous. It’s in the Torah; it’s in the Prophets and Psalms; it’s in the Gospels; it’s in the Epistles. How many churches emphasize serving the poor as much as the Bible itself does? Would the world look the way it does if all believers followed these commands?
Another thing to note about these verses is the the lack of excuses. None of them add “…once a year” or “…when you feel you can” or “…if they’re moral” or “…unless they’re black” or “…if they speak English”. We have plenty of reasons (I’m sure you can think of a dozen) why we can’t go out and feed the hungry, why we have to turn away the needy borrower– and God help us, how many of us have sold so much as a lawnmower in order to have money to give away? But all those reasons belong to our sinful human nature, not to God. God just wants those needy people helped.
If you wanted to be a Biblical one-issue voter, you’d do well to make that one issue serving the poor.

Blessings on those who serve the poor:

Serving poor may be ‘The Right Thing To Do’; but the Bible also associates it with material and spiritual reward. Here we’ll look at the benefits promised to those who serve the poor; in the next section we’ll examine the consequences of not doing so.

Prov. 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.

Jer. 22:16 “Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then it was well. Is that not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.

Deut. 15:10. You shall give generously to [your poor brother], and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.
Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.

Jer. 7:5-7. “For, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly practice justice between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, nor walk after other gods to your own ruin, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.”

Is. 58:10. “And if you give yourself to the hungry, and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness, and your gloom will become like midday. And the LORD will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”

Luke 14:12-14. “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Luke 12:44. “Sell your possessions and give alms; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Mt. 19:20ff. The young man said to Him, “All these commands I have kept; what am I still lacking?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Commentary: We do find promises of reward in the Bible– to those who serve the poor. God’s making a very simple proposal here: “You help the poor, and I’ll repay it.”
Jesus is asking us to go way past our comfort level in giving things away. And in not getting them back.
Who are the poor, by the way? Among our rationalizations is the feeling that the actual poor aren’t people we really have to pay attention to. They may be of different races, or not speak our language, or aren’t moral enough for us, they may live lives on the margins of society, somewhere we have no idea how to approach, they may swear, they may rend us, they may behave and act in a manner that scares us, they may smell, they may be illegal immigrants. (Imagine that, a class of human beings that are illegal. Imagine explaining that to God.) Nevertheless, we are without excuse if we don’t reach out. There are no get out clauses because we are scared or busy or ‘don’t feel it’s our calling’.
God doesn’t want to hear those excuses; he specifically commands us to help the stranger, the alien, the sojourner. Jesus’ command on dinner parties couldn’t be clearer: the people you need to help are not the people like you, the people you like, the people who can repay you. As for racial prejudice, note that the first person in the gospel of John to whom Jesus clearly confesses to being the Messiah is a Samaritan; Samaritans were despised by the orthodox Jews of the time. (And for that matter, she was a woman, and an adulterer.)
Can you give too much? We believe in moderation in all things. Unfortunately, we get this idea from the Greeks, not the Bible. Jesus asks for immoderate giving.

Consequences of not serving the poor:

As there are blessings for those who serve the poor, there are consequences for those who oppress them… or who simply ignore them.

Ezek. 16:49ff. “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.”

Is. 10:1-3. “Woe to those who enact evil statutes, and to those who continually record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, and rob the poor of My people of their rights… Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar?”

Luke 1:52ff. [Mary's Magnificat.] “He has brought down rulers from their thrones, and has exalted those who were hungry. He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.”

Ezek. 22:29,31. “The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice… Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord GOD.

Jer. 5:28f. “[The wicked] do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the poor. Shall I not punish these people?” declares the LORD. “On such a nation as this, shall I not avenge myself?”
James 5:1-6. Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. …Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and with you have withheld, cries out against you; and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabbath. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.

Luke 6:24. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.”

Luke 16:19-25. “Now there was a certain rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, gaily living in splendor every day. And a certain poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, and longing to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs would come and lick his sores. Now it came about that the poor man died and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham far away, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue; for I am in agony in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony…’”

Commentary: The most serious issue I believe we should have as western Christians is not what will happen if we are not ‘moral’ enough, ‘nice’ enough or ‘good’ enough – but what will happen to us, our churches, our nation, if we don’t serve the poor.
Obviously, adding to the misery of the poor is bad– exploiting workers, oppressing immigrants, robbing the needy. But it doesn’t stop there. Merely ignoring the poor is a crime. Sodom wasn’t destroyed because of sexual immorality; it was destroyed because it “had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease”– and isn’t that a pretty good description of the West at the moment — and it “did not help the poor and needy”.
There isn’t the least suggestion that the rich man being punished in hell was responsible for Lazarus’s condition… except in the most general sense: he was responsible as a fellow human being, as a man who was aware of the one suffering at his door and did nothing to help.
“Pleading the cause” of the poor, being their advocate and defender, is simply something a righteous person does. Are you someone who, when others are silent, advocates for the poor in your company, your church, your nation, your political party?

Biblical attitudes for believers toward the poor:

If we truly love God and have his Spirit living within us we will naturally care for the poor as the compassion of Jesus overflows from our hearts toward them.

Prov. 29:7. The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor; the wicked does not understand such concern.

1 John 3:17. But whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Luke 6:33ff. “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same.”

2 Cor 9:7. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Mt. 6:2-4. “When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

Mt. 6:24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and Money.”

1 Tim. 6:10. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.

Gal. 2:9ff. Recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John… gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. They only asked us to remember the poor– the very thing I also was eager to do.

Lev. 19:15. “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.”

Acts 2:44. All those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and they began to sell their property and possessions, and share them with all, as anyone might have need.

Acts 4:32-35. And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.

Eph. 4:28. Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.

Commentary:
Acts 4 is a mini-description of how it should be in our church families. There was not a needy person among them. Why isn’t that said about us? We have a lot more resources than a group of mostly poor first-century Palestinians. When the heart of the gospel reaches out with compassion to the poor in a self-sacrificial way – God is truly in our midst.
God’s identification with the poor:

Like a good king, the Lord is concerned with his poor subjects. In the passages below, we see that His heart goes deeper still: he identifies with the poor; he puts himself in their place.

2 Cor. 8:9. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.

Prov. 19:17. He who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, and He will repay him for his good deed.

Prov. 14:31. He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him.

Mt. 25:31-46. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ Then they themselves will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Commentary: God isn’t a conservative; he’s a revolutionary. He not only takes the side of the poor; he puts himself in their place. In the very alarming parable of the sheep and the goats he speaks of salvation as depending on how we treat the poorest and the most afflicted.
There’s all sorts of meaning in that, but at the very least we can say that Jesus takes the issue of poverty personally. A church or a nation that ignores its poor or places stumbling blocks in their way, is very far from the Spirit of God.