“For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.” Deuteronomy 15:11 / Need

Prologue.

Last week our Exploring Christianity post dealt with the story of the Good Samaritan and its meaning for our lives today. The point of the post was to highlight the hypocrisy rampant in the religious practices and attitudes of Jesus’ day, where supposedly “religious” people could ignore the plight of those truly in need and still claim to be pious and in good standing with God.  It also drew some parallels with attitudes prevalent in our religious society today and how we need to be on guard against the same kind of empty piety the priest and the Levite displayed in the parable.

But a reader came back to me and said, “OK, Richard, I get that we shouldn’t be hypocritical in our approach to our religion.  And I understand that we should remain ready to help our neighbors in need. But what does that really mean, and how much is enough?!?”

That is an excellent question!  Let’s see if we cannot come up with some answers.

The Nature of “Need.”

We all regularly encounter people (family, friends, neighbors, and strangers) who are in need.  In fact, we see “need” all around us.  Beggars on the street are an obvious example, but other kinds of need are just as real and even more pervasive.  People who are in the hospital need someone to visit them.  Inmates in prison need someone to show that they are still loved and missed.  Neighbors who are elderly need assistance with daily tasks.  Homeless people need food and shelter.  And people in psychological distress need guidance and treatment.

I’ve come to realize that there is no one who is not in need, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual.  And, the enormity of our collective need is, to me, completely overwhelming.  My pitiful attempts to alleviate the needs I observe in my fellow man seem puny and almost embarrassing in their inadequacy.  When faced with need such as this, it would be easy to despair and simply give up.

In fact, some people have used the prevalence of need in the world as an argument against God. “If God truly exists,” they reason, “and if God is omnipotent, then why does He allow need (or any other kind of human discomfort) to even exist?  Why does He just not make it all go away?”  (See my Posts 23-27 on Faith for answers to this question.)

Jesus understood the problem of need.  He also realized that the amount of human need was immense.  “…the poor you will always have with you…” [Matthew 26:11]  And, although He did heal some sick people and raise some people from the dead, even He did not spend every day and every resource at Hs disposal eliminating need.  Where need was concerned, Jesus focused on two core issues: (1) Practical response (how needs could be dealt with and managed); and (2) The real purpose of need and its importance to our relationship with God.

The Practical Response.

First, let us focus on physical, or personal need.  Here we are addressing bodily needs or mental health issues.

Jesus and the Scriptures give us much direction regarding how we are to respond to these kinds of needs.  What may be His most famous (and often quoted) command was, “…that you love one another as I have loved you.” [John 15:12]   Here we’re given the most basic instruction on dealing with others’ need.

Another of His powerful statements on heeding the need of others is, “…For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’  And the King will answer, “In truth I tell you in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” [Matthew 25:35-40]

Other instruction is provided in Deuteronomy 15:11 quoted at the beginning of this post as well in 1 John 3:17-18 and James 2:14-17.  Other examples abound.

The summary of this advice is really to do what the Good Samaritan did.  That is to help people whom we see in need, as much as we can, when we can, wherever they are.

None of us, acting on our own, can eliminate the kind of physical/mental need we’re examining here.  As I said above, the amount of the need is simply too great.  But, each of us can decide to make at least a small difference each day.  Single acts of kindness and help can add up, and if we all made it our goal to make someone’s life just a little easier each day, I suspect we’d be a lot further down the road to addressing the corporate needs that we see around us.

Also, we can (and have) combine(d) our efforts for the greater good.  Ultimately, one of the fundamental purposes of government is to facilitate its citizens’ ability to be able to do more together than they can on their own.  We’ve also established social support agencies, charitable organizations, and mental health resources to aid in the lessening of the various needs these organizations were formed to address.  I’m not aware of anyone who thinks that we’re doing enough for these causes.  We can and should “do more,” both personally and jointly.

Jesus doesn’t expect us to “beggar” ourselves solely for the sake of others.  But He does expect us to take advantage of the opportunities for service He places before us each day, and to invest our time, our energy, and our resources in addressing those needs, to the best of our ability.  Only when we can look in the mirror and say, “I’ve done all I could do,” will we have the answer to “How much is enough?”

As I said in Post 47 (Christ the Servant), God put us here to be “our brother’s keeper.”  And, that’s what He expects.  We may never win the fight against the needs of humanity, but we each need to make it a point to be a soldier in the war.

The “Bigger” Issue.

The second and more important issue concerning need that Jesus focused on was spiritual.  Ultimately, God’s concern is not just for our physical or mental needs, but more so for the health of our souls and our relationship with Him.

In Mark 8:36, Jesus asks, “…For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?”  In other words, physical needs are important, but the needs of the soul are more so.  God didn’t create us just to exist.  He created us to be in fellowship with Him.  It was our souls that Christ came to save, not our bodies.

Jesus also said, “…God knows you need (these things).  Set your heart on His kingdom first…and all these other things will be given to you as well.” [Matthew 6:32-34]

Jesus didn’t want anyone to be hungry, because He knew that a hungry man has difficulty in focusing on anything other than his hunger.  Jesus tasks us to make sure that all our brothers are fed, clothed, housed, and protected from disease.  He does not want there to be anything that distracts anyone from focusing on the real issue, that of our relationship with Him.

God has provided us (if we possessed sufficient will and determination) with enough material things to take care of our physical needs.  But only through Jesus can our deepest, most fundamental spiritual needs be met.

Even here, though, we can help one another.  Through mutual encouragement, emotional support, brotherly love, shared worship, and continuing lifting one another up in prayer we can all play a part in helping to satisfy our brothers’ spiritual needs.  Our brothers’ relationships with God may be between them and Him, but we can help provide an environment where those relationships are possible, encouraged and supported.  Yes, even here, we are our brothers’ keepers.

Summary.

So, the message is that just as Jesus focused on and had concern for our brothers’ physical and spiritual needs, so must we.  It’s not enough just to provide for physical or emotional needs.  We must also strive to help meet our brothers’ (and sisters’) spiritual needs as well.  Only Jesus can save, but we can be there to encourage and support when He does.

And the great news is that the more we pay attention to these things, the closer we will come to God in our own relationship with Him.  For us, it’s a “win, win!”

The Apostle Paul sums it all up beautifully in 2 Corinthians 9:9-15 where he utters the famous line, “…God loves a cheerful giver…”  We are tasked to give of our physical and financial resources, but also of ourselves.  For it is in the giving of ourselves, that the true ‘value’ lies and our opportunity to reflect Christ to the world abides.  Let us each be a living testimony to Him and His message that we do, truly, “love one another.”

God’s Blessings on You All.

Richard

May 31, 2019