Proverbs 19:17
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He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
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Helping the poor financially is like making a loan to the LORD Jehovah! The metaphor is powerful! The LORD is a great credit risk! He will repay for sure, and He will include interest and blessings with it! You can never lose giving to the LORD! He represents the poor, because He has made them and protects them (Ps 10:14; 12:5; 140:12; Eccl 5:8).
Reader, financial success is not hard! Give to the truly poor, and the Lord will repay your kindness with liberal blessings. Economic prosperity was never so easy! The omnipotent God will send success to you from heaven! If you scatter your money cheerfully, He will make you rich (11:24; II Cor 9:7)! If you hold back, poverty is coming for sure (11:24)! Of course, the world and your flesh, which are hateful by nature, do not believe this rule.
This proverb, like the others, is a God-ordained law. You may trust it like you trust gravity and other natural laws. The esteemed business programs at Stanford, the Wharton School, and Harvard are jokes in comparison. Any man with knowledge of these proverbs is far superior to the silly little MBA's from these schools (28:11; I Tim 6:20).
There is little difference between the rich and poor, for God has made them both (22:2). The fact that one man has more than another is God's choice, not personal superiority (I Cor 4:7; Eccl 9:11). The rich should never mock the poor or gloat over them (17:5). It is the solemn duty and privilege of all men to kindly consider the poor (28:3; 29:7; Ps 41:1).
This matter of considering and helping the poor is so important to God that He has attached blessings and punishments to it. Giving to the poor will bring financial blessings to the giver (22:9; 28:8,27; Ps 112:9). Being stingy with the poor will bring financial judgment on selfish wretches (21:13; 22:16; 28:27). He that ears to hear, let him hear!
Who are the poor, and where are they? They are not on television programs from socialist do-gooders with no regard for God or truth. And this includes those "prosperity gospel" heretics posing as Christians. They often use the pictures of bloated and starving babies simply to increase their cash flow to siphon off for their carnal "ministries." Nations perpetuating poverty by ignorance and superstition are not objects of godly charity.
The poor are the orphans and widows, or others under acts of God, He brings across your path (Jas 1:27). The Good Samaritan did not go to the slums looking for wounded Jews, but he was eager to help a poor man put in his way by the Lord's providence. And the poor certainly include the poor among the saints (Acts 11:28-30; Rom 15:26; Gal 6:10).
The poor do not include foolish or lazy men, unless they sincerely repent and do all they can for themselves. Foolish and lazy men should starve, as it is the best teaching device and appropriate justice (20:4; Matt 25:1-30; II Thess 3:10). Wise men are not a general insurance fund for foolish men. Let the foolish learn wisdom the hard way (16:26)!
What do we give the poor? Food, clothing, and shelter, or those things closely connected to these basic necessities (Job 31:16-22; Is 58:7; Ezek 18:5-9; Jas 2:15-16). Luxuries or pleasures are not the nature of true charity. Considering the poor is seeing their needs, not their foolish desires (Acts 2:44-45;4:34-35). Toys for Christmas are not true charity! And neither is the Bible communistic - the more gifted and diligent should enjoy more.
In the churches of Jesus Christ, the giving is to be overseen by bishops and deacons, lest the undeserving receive charity and the deserving be overlooked. The money of the early church was laid at the apostles' feet for them to make distribution (Acts 4:35,37; 5:2). When the task became too great for them, they ordained deacons for the job (Acts 6:1-6).
Only cheerful giving works (II Cor 9:7; Gal 2:10). If you resent or moan about giving, you lose twice! You lose the money you give, and you lose the promised blessings. You are a loser twice over! You brought nothing into this world, and you will take nothing out. You have been blessed greatly. Why is your soul so stingy about giving to the poor?
Only a faithless fool says, "I cannot afford to give"! The truth is he cannot afford NOT to give! He is poor because of his stinginess. If he loosened his purse, he would be blessed financially. But of course, unbelievers cannot grasp this simple and certain lesson. The faithful man believes the promise and takes advantage of it with cheer and thanksgiving!
God does not miss a single dime you give, or minute you donate, to the poor. He will repay! And He does not miss a single dime you withhold or a minute you keep for yourself. He repays that as well! God will take the little that a selfish and stingy man has and give it to the rich man, who liberally gives to the poor (Matt 25:14-30). Glory!
Wise men with faith rejoice to give to the poor. They know charity is the greatest grace and mark of Christianity (I Cor 13:13; John 13:35; I John 3:16-19). They know one purpose of hard work is to have more to give (Eph 4:28). They know charity is a more excellent way of serving Christ than being an apostle (I Cor 12:28 - 13:3). Glory!
The Lord Jesus Christ will repay every gift you give to the poor. He will repay the principal - you will never be short. He will repay with interest - you will have more than if you had not given. He will also repay with many other blessings (14:21; Phil 4:17-19; I Tim 6:17-19). And He will remember every dime in the Day of Judgment, even when you forget in the horrible heat of that solemn event (Matt 25:31-46; Luke 14:12-14)!
If you still have a hard time giving, consider your glorious Benefactor, the Lord Jesus Christ. For your desperate and starving condition in the poverty of sin and condemnation, He became poor that you might be made rich. What blackness of heart causes you to refrain from giving all you have to others (II Cor 8:9)?
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