All Men are Brothers!

            We rally the cry within our country, “All men are brothers!” If all men are brothers, then why are so many of our fellow men in need or ignored? Why are so many of the downtrodden stuck there?

            Oftentimes, society believes that it is not necessarily the churches’ duty to take care of those that are in need. However, God’s design is for the church to be the church, to take care of one another and provide for each other’s needs. I think of Acts 4, “³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.” The needs talked about in these verses are physical needs, but amidst meeting the physical/material needs of people, it says that the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. They were also meeting the spiritual needs of the people. Sometimes, meeting the physical and material needs of the people is a way to reach them spiritually, whether inadvertently or intentionally over time. The government does provide services for those in need, but the Truth of the matter is that if the Church was truly being the Church, they wouldn’t have to! It is our job to serve just as Jesus came to serve, to be good stewards of our resources (which is not always money, but everything we have including knowledge, resources, etc.), and to lovingly come along beside these families to love and encourage and support them because in doing so, we are bringing glory to God. The government cannot give those in need the peace, the freedom, and the joy that comes from walking with Christ and the support and love that comes from walking with fellow believers through a strong ministry at local churches.

            Secondly, there are those that question the motives of those asking for resources or ‘handouts.’ One should view those in need the way that God views them and recognize that their physical/material state is the reality of the state of our hearts before we came to a saving faith in Christ. The beggar on the side of the road may not be Jesus in the flesh, but he is a creation of God, knit together just like those who have plenty. We must view people, all people, as those created by God for a purpose. As mentioned previously, sometimes meeting physical needs allows one to meet spiritual needs in the process, whether simply through the witness and love as a result of his actions or through a relationship forged with those in need and a gradual opportunity for verbally sharing his faith. The key factor is listening to the Holy Spirit's prompting in helping those that are in need. One must recognize that ‘helping’ can be just as self-righteous as ‘walking by’ if the state of our heart is not pure and genuine. One may not have an obligation to help everyone, but he does have an obligation to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit even if he thinks that the motives behind the need are not God-honoring. If one is prompted, he must obey.

            “We must and will find Christ in each and every man, when we look on them as brothers.”- Doris Day, The Lost Loneliness