Caring In Times Like These

In Deut 15:11, the scripture plainly declared “for the poor shall never cease out of thy land; therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shall open thy hand wide unto thy brother…” God’s original desire and plan for His church is to have a community where none of the members would lack. That was the case in the New Testament church (acts). If we are going to be correct Christians, we cannot live below the standard God has set in His word. The poor among us did not become poor by choice; some due to natural disasters and recently as a result of the global melt down. It would be necessary for us to search the scriptures together to know what God expects each of us to do in times like these. May God open our eyes and hearts to understand in Jesus name? Amen.

Effects of the current meltdown – Ruth 1:1-23

Whenever, there is any disaster (current meltdown as an example), the attendant effects or consequences could be enormous. Unfortunately, the church is always at the receiving end because a Christian would not cut corners just like others would do. Some of these effects are:

·         Job losses

·         Divorce

·         Financial difficulties

·         Hunger

·         Nakedness

·         Homelessness

·         Children dropping out of school

·         Sickness and diseases

·         Untimely death.

The list is endless. The story of Elimelech and Naomi his wife in Ruth chapter one is quite instructive and seems to paint a beautiful picture of the situation on hand. Nothing could have made him to relocate to a gentile country (Moab) where he eventually lost his life and all that he had ever labored for, including his only two sons if his kinsmen had risen to help him.

What should the response of the church be?

Gen 45:1-8, Ruth 2:1-20, Acts 4:32, 34, 36, 37.

·         Lets briefly look at some examples in the scriptures of how the people of God responded to situations like these in the bible days:

·         Joseph did not see the famine that ravaged the land as an opportunity to avenge himself on his brothers. He rather rose to the occasion to deliver them from death. “And God sent me before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance” Gen 45:7

·         Boaz saw the homecoming of Naomi and her daughter in law, Ruth as an opportunity for to be a blessing his kinsmen and not treat them as beggars-Ruth 2:1-16. He deliberately set aside part of his income just to care for Naomi and Ruth. He went beyond giving them just leftovers, he actually bore their burdens. Ruth 2:15-16.

It is important for us to know that whatever resources God had put in our hands are meant to cushion the effect for those who have been affected by the current trend. Failure to do this only shows that we do not know God that we claim to be serving. It could be on individual basis just like what Boaz did or as a church as recorded in Acts 4:32, 34, 36, 37.