Poverty - God's Cry for Justice

Justice is something that is very close to God's heart. Throughout the Bible, God's cry has been that the poor and widow and the orphans are not left out but looked after. We first must love the Lord our God with our entire being. Then, we are equipped to pursue loving our neighbor as ourselves through the pursuit of social justice. Over and over the law instructs Israelites to remember the foreigner, the orphan and the widow — those most vulnerable to hunger and poverty.
Leviticus 23:22
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.

Other laws provided for sharing one-tenth of the harvest with immigrants, orphans and widows (Deut 14:28-29), for lending at no interest to those in need (Ex 22:25), and for the cancellation of debts every seventh year (Deut 15:1-2). Every fiftieth year was to be a Year of Jubilee during which property was to be returned to the family of the original owner so as to prevent the concentration of wealth and make sure that each family had the means to feed itself. The prophets too picked up on this theme and cried for social justice.
Isaiah 10:1-3
Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless.

Jesus when He walked the earth ministered to the bottom and most vulnerable people in the social pyramid. Jesus made it clear that when we minister to hungry or the sick or the stranger, we are really ministering to Him.
Matthew 25:37-40
Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? hen did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'. The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
Social justice is the necessary extension of a true relationship with God as revealed through Jesus Christ. Through discipleship with Jesus, we receive the divine mandate to oppose structural sin and oppression and are given the sustenance of the Holy Spirit to do so.
Romans 15:26
For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

How is your heart towards the poor and needy? Are you moved into action to help those who are not as fortunate as you? It is important that we do our part and be the good Samaritan for the needy around us and stand up against structural sin in the community we live in.
James 1:27
Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
Let us not be deceived into thinking that we are walking in God's righteousness if we turn a blind eye to the needy...
Isaiah 58:6-10
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.