From the Pulpit
Reach out to help the poor among you
Jim Burgess Blakely Ministerial Association
In John 12:1-7 we find a story where Mary, sister of Lazarus, washes the feet of Jesus with some expensive perfume. Judas objected to the waste of the perfume. Jesus said to leave her alone and indicated that this was done in preparation for his burial. He then said, "You will always have the poor among you." Boy is that ever true. It is hard to realize that in our nation, one of the richest in the world, there are many poor people. I have been serving for the last three years as the treasurer of the Blakely Ministerial Association. We have many calls for help from people who are on fixed incomes and often need help when unexpected expenses come along. In the last few months people have been hit hard by higher than usual electricity bills. Many times this results in penalties for late payment and eventually have their electricity cut off. This results in additional charges for which they have no money to pay. We have been trying to help in some of these situations, but we have very limited funds. What does the Bible say about helping the poor? Jesus mentions helping the poor several times in the New Testament. Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell all that he had and give it to the poor. Matthew 19:21. In Matthew 25:31-43, in the parable about the sheep and the goats, the sheep (Christians) help those in need. We as Christians often make up all kinds of excuses as to why we can't do more to help those in need, but often they are just excuses.
The truth is we don't want to give anything that might cause us to spend less on ourselves. Yes, many are poor due to their own fault, but even in those situations there are children who suffer and need electricity, hot water and adequate housing and food.
If you would like to help, send a contribution to Blakely Ministerial Association, P.O. Box 385, Blakely, Ga. 39823.
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