The Poor in the Land (Deuteronomy 15)
If you ask many Christians what the Bible says about the poor, there’s a good chance they will mention this text: "Jesus said, 'You always have the poor with you'" (Mark 14:7). Unfortunately, this verse is often misinterpreted. People assume Jesus is saying it doesn’t really matter if we serve the poor or not, for there will always be plenty of them among us. This is definitely NOT what Jesus meant. The Bible is filled with admonitions regarding our responsibility for the poor, both personally and corporately. However, many American Christians are oblivious to their God-given mandate to serve the poor. They fail to realize that Jesus' words quoted above are taken from Deuteronomy 15:11, which says, “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” Clearly, the presence of the poor among us is not meant to excuse us from serving them. In fact, ...