Longer Essay 2- Time and Giving

The question is: Should we personally interact with the poor and those in need? And the answer is yes. I am a Christian, which means I am a follower of Christ: therefore I should follow His lead. In the Bible Jesus spent time with those who needed it. He just didn't heal, but he taught and ate with those who were in need of Him. But don't take my word for it, in Matthew 9: 9-13 it speaks about how the Pharisees confronted Jesus about eating with sinners. In this text we see that Jesus did not keep His distance, in fact He said that it only made sense that He spend time and give of Himself to those who needed Him most. Therefore, as Christians I believe that we need to have a hands-on approach. Yes it is nice to share your resources with those who are less fortunate, but is that enough? I don't think it is.

1 John 4:12 says that God dwells in us if we love one another. How does a person know that you love them? I think one way a person can display the love of Christ is by giving. Not just giving money or material things, but time and a listening ear. The thing is, we have a responsibility to the poor. Not only do we have to take care of them financially, but we have to allow them to see Christ through us.
I believe that spending time with those in need can also lessen the rate of poverty. Last year I did a report on the high school dropout rate in Benton Harbor, Michigan, and I discovered that many students drop out because they are not motivated to succeed. This is mainly because they do not have positive examples of success. If people who are similar to them in ethnicity and circumstance, and who have succeeded spend intimate time with them, then maybe they may see that they have more options than becoming basketball players or rappers—which is really rare, and in turn become determined and pursue an education which will give them a stable job, as well as help them contribute to society. Once these values are instilled in one person, they usually teach these values to their children. That can end the cycle of poverty in that family. When I spoke to some of the high school students in the Benton Harbor area, they stated that their parents didn’t finish school and no one ever tells them that going to college is important. If one person that they can respect shares with them the importance of education it might make a difference. This is something that can’t be accomplished by donating money alone. People are needed to push these teens along.

I think that this does not just apply to poor. Christians need to be there for those who are struggling in every way: those with relationship problems, neglected or misled children, people who have broken hearts, or health issues, battered women and children and those struggling with addictions. I think as Christians we have a lot of resources and knowledge about almost every aspect of life that we need to share with those who are not as fortunate as us to gain access to these resources. God does not just call us to preach salvation; He calls us to cater to those who are hungry and imprisoned. That requires time.

"For everyone to whom much given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:48 NKJV).