When you help others

“If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.” (Isa. 58:10 ESV)

“Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” (Prov. 11:25

A powerful biblical principle is found in the two verses above

A few years ago my brother, David, came to live with us. He was very sick and extremely depressed. He spent most of his time curled up in bed. At that time our son, John, was helping with a ministry called “Salt on the Street”, where he handed out needed items to the homeless on the streets and under bridges. One day, John was about to leave our house to go do it and David was nearby. John invited him to tag along with him. David didn’t want to go but I strongly “encouraged” him to go along, and he very reluctantly went. Later, when they returned, I could hardly recognize David. His depression  had completely lifted. He was so happy that he had gone. He had handed out socks and sandwiches to those who were in great need (many had thanked him). It was a great turning point for David and things went uphill for him from there. 

Help the poor, the weak, the needy, widows and the fatherless 

“For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land.’” (Deut. 15:11 ESV)

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” (James 1:27 ESV)

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.” (Isa. 1:17 ESV)

“And the crowds asked him, ‘What then shall we do?’ And he answered them, ‘Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.’” (Luke 3:10-11 ESV)

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35 ESV)

“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.” (Rom. 15:1 ESV)

Warning

“Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.” (Prov. 21:13 ESV) 

Therefore…

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Gal. 6:2 ESV)

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” (Gal. 6:9 ESV)

“Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” (Prov. 19:17 ESV)

Quotes:

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But…the good Samaritan reversed the question: ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”  - Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“When you become detached mentally from yourself and concentrate on helping other people with their difficulties, you will be able to cope with your own more effectively. Somehow, the act of self-giving is a personal power-releasing factor.” - Norman Vincent Peale

“You can have everything you want in life if you just help enough people get what they want in life.” - Zig Ziglar