According to Jesus Christ serving the poor is the best investment there is. By investing in the worldly financial systems chances are that they will fail due to robbery, corruption or financial difficulty. When this happens investors lose their money and head for financial ruin. But by investing in heaven – by serving to the poor – our investment not only that is safe and secure but it is also guaranteed to bring hefty returns here on earth and in the world to come.
The Bible confirms that those that give to the poor will never lack in this world. This obviously does not mean that givers will never have financial need. What this means is that when givers do need money God simply draws part of their interest from their heavenly account and dispatches to them. Again, it was Jesus who said that everyone who give up money or property in obedience to His instructions for the purpose of serving good news to the poor, will receive now in this present life a return of a hundred times plus eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).
Determinants Of The Quality Of Love
A. Donation percentage. What determines the quality of giving is not just the actual amount given but also the percentage of the amount given in respect to the amount left. One day Jesus sat down near the collection box in the temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. In the end, Jesus said the poor widow gave more than all the others who made contributions to that day. Because, he said, others gave a tiny fraction of their surplus, but she gave everything she had (Mark 12:41-44).
B. Donation motive. Why you give is more important than what you give. We ought to love each other for the sake of helping each other not to feed our ego or attracting dubious favors from men. The Bible says: “… Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. … Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. (Matt. 6:1-4)
C. Divine instructions. The Bible says obedience to God’s instructions (which is the love of God) is superior to all types of sacrifices and offerings. Apostle Paul said, “If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing” (1Cor. 13:3). The kind of love Paul was referring to here is the love of God. When God says give or don’t give something we ought to obey Him. As good as giving to the poor is, doing so against God’s instruction is as much sin as cold-blooded murder. This is what happened to King Saul.
God instructed Saul to kill all of his enemies. But Saul left King Agag and fat cattle in the excuse of giving them to God as thanks giving offering. To this God, through Prophet Samuel said: “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen, Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols.” (1 Sam. 15:22-23)
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