Concerning the poor and needy · 2:40am Jul 26th, 2020
Don't wait until you hear of people dying of starvation and poverty to get up and offer what you can. Cash may help a homeless person on the street for a while, but donating food, water, flashlight batteries and bug spray to churches and organizations that help such people can also do much good. A man or woman on the street needs water to live, after all, as do all of us, and flashlights (especially the heavy ones) are good for seeing at night as well as for self defense, while bug spray keeps the bugs (especially mosquitoes) away and reduces the chance of a person who can't afford medical care from getting sick. It all helps them to hang on until some help can arrive.
Sadly, not everyone will get back on their feet; there are probably homeless people who die every day from exposure, disease, and starvation or dehydration. However, we shouldn't give up, as we don't know the future and can't predict what kind of turnarounds might be in store for someone else. At the very least, it can give help and hope for the moment, and maybe the needy may be able to get back on their feet. There will probably be pessimistic answers to this, but even one person being helped is better than no one being helped at all.
The same applies to helping depressed people; don't let them stew in their own juices. Offer a hand, a kind word, some godly advice. Let them know you really care. Let them know that someone, in a godly way, loves and cares about them.
Show godly love to your neighbor (who is anyone you meet, ever). Do this all in a spirit of godly love and a desire to aid them, not out of compulsion or a desire to be made known. In this, we ought not to be afraid to spread the Gospel with those in need, that they might receive from God something worth infinitely more than we could ever give them.
May the Lord Jesus save, keep, and watch over you all.
Amen.