Intro: George Will's editorial last Monday said that there were no more poor people in America, except for those who choose to be poor. Is that true? I think not. Poverty was a problem in Israel 2800 years ago, in Jesus' time, and still today, even in our wealthy nation. Even on Signal Mountain, we have the poor. But how to do it? How to care for the poor of society? Some general principles from the Bible:

I. DON'T PICK ALL YOUR GRAPES (Leviticus 19:10; 23:22).
A. Explain the OT agricultural practice.
B. Illustrate from the story of Ruth 2:2-3
C. TRANSLATE TO OUR NON-AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY TODAY:
LEAVE SOME OF YOUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR OTHERS TO TAKE:
1. Suppose you are a Dr., a lawyer, a plumber, house builder, etc. If you already
have enough work to meet all your needs, you might start referring new
customers, patients, to a new Dr., lawyer, plumber, etc., who is just getting
started, and who desperately needs the work.
2. Obviously, we all don't have the sort of work, where we can channel our earning
opportunites to someone else.

II. EVERYONE SHOULD DEMAND AN HONEST COURT SYSTEM.
A. Leviticus 19:15 and Proverbs 29:14
B. It has often been the case in many cultures, many historical periods, that a poor man
had no chance at all to win against a wealthy man in court. Money talks.
C. What can we do?
1. Obviously if you are working in the legal system, be honest. Don't accept bribes.
2. The rest of us: speak up. Demand integrity. Vote out dishonesty. Stand up for
those who are being cheated, or else you will be next!

III. FAMILIES MUST CARE FOR THEIR OWN. (I Timothy 5:3-4, 8-10, 16)
A. In other days there was no government welfare, no medicaid, no medicare, no health or life insurance, no Salvation Army, no Bethel Thrift Store, no rescue missions, etc. etc.
Families HAD to take care of one another, or there simply was no care.
B. In our time, there are so many sources of aid that families turn away their own, because of these other helping hands.
C. TWO PROBLEMS:
1. People begin to think that they have a right to free help, which is wrong.
2. Families get out of the habit of taking care of themselves.
D. The Church is God's family, and God wants us to take care of our members who
truly need help (Acts 6:1-4).
E. God also says, If you don't work, you shouldn't eat (2 Thess. 3:10-12).

IV. DON'T LOOK DOWN ON THE POOR.
A. See James 2:1-5.
B. It is no sin to be poor. Jesus was poor. Many godly, hard working people have been poor.
C. Look down on those who are lazy, or those who waste their money. But in and of itself, poverty is no sin. God has called us to be generous to the poor (Prov. 19:17; 21:13;
Luke 14:13, etc)

CONCLUSION: