I think we should be theologically biased towards Christians - just as we have a greater responsibility to care for our family members ahead of other people.

Great post, Andrew!  I often lament the gross oversight of Biblical prioritizing in mercy (the misreading and subsequent abuse of Matt 25:40 is unreal!).

However, may I quibble with or inquire about one of your last bullets, energetically stated (!!!)? 

You wrote, “...giving to the poor does not become a public relations activity to give us a hearing for the gospel”  I understand the argument here, and suppose it is similar to Stott’s in Christian Mission?  But how does this square in your mind with Matt 5:16 and 1 Pet 2:12?  Especially the latter passage, wherein Peter appears to extrapolate and specify Christ’s argument of shining for God’s glory in Matt 5 to God’s glory in the conversion of those Gentiles who observe good deeds “in the day of visitation”?

Thanks, again!

Hi Andrew,

Great post. Coincidentally, we were talking about this issue at Biblestudy last night!

I wonder if looking after the poor in our own family could happen most effectively in our churches? After all, churches are families, and are in touch with those who needed help in their congregations.

One thing we talked about was how our church had a fund set aside for people who needed help, but not many people knew about it. We are tempted to have a “sit back and wait and see who needs help” approach, rather than a proactive one.

We concluded that as a church, we need to be proactive about letting people know that there is money there if people need help. As congregation members, we need to be actively giving to this fund, plus keeping our eyes and ears open for people who may need help and actively reach out to them.

And on the flipside, when we become the ones who need help, we need to not be too ashamed to ask for it! Often Christians want to help, but they don’t know about a person’s need.

On a personal note, Dominic Steele once challenged my husband and I about having a separate account which has money that is available to give away to anyone who has need, whenever that need arises. This is a great way to ensure we always have something to give to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Andrew,

I’m a little disappointed you didn’t bother to take those verses out of context.

In my denomination it is not permissible to talk about the poor using verses in their context, further, most parachurches adhere to this guideline as well.

I very concerned that if you don’t make a better effort, you’ll find yourself thinking straight about these issues and then how will you hope to use gut reactions and emotional blackmail?

Michael Hutton