The poor

  • The poor are those who do not have the resources to meet their basic needs.
  • We live with them in our society. They could be our neighbours, classmates, friends or even strangers.
  • Poor people lack the basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter.
  • God wants us to help the poor. We will get His blessings if we do so.
  • In( Psalm 41:1,) the happy are those who are concerned with the poor for the Lord promises to help them when they are in trouble.

What causes poverty?

  • Death of a family member, for example a parent who was the breadwinner.
  • Natural disasters such as drought and floods.
  • Bad economic conditions where employers are forced to sack their employees if the productivity of the workers decreases.
  • Drug abuse, which may include drugs like alcohol, cocaine, bhang or even medicines if wrongly administered. A person who abuses drugs will often spend a lot of money on buying these drugs. Most times, they spend more than they can afford to.
  • Laziness. Lazy people are unwilling to do work therefore they do not earn money. This makes one poor, as one is unable to afford basic needs. 

 

How can we help the poor?

  1. We can encourage those who abuse drugs to enrol in a drug rehabilitation programme.
  2. We can also share with them the joy of salvation that gives us all hope of a better future.
  3. We should help them get started on income generating projects by providing the initial capital