Showing posts with label poor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poor. Show all posts

Thursday, June 18, 2026

Today's Favorite Verse:Mark 14:4-6

Today's Favorite Verse:Mark 14:4-6
"And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. "

As I was reading these verses I remembered an experience I had at a temple open house. I was with someone that wasn't a member of the church. They were getting rather upset while we walked through the temple. In their eyes all they saw was money being wasted on a building when it could have been used to feed the poor. This whole thought bothered them. At this point we were standing in the celestial room. I reminded them that Solomon's temple was covered with gold and precious things. In the House of the Lord we give our very best.

I told them how much it meant to me to come to the temple and sit in peace in such lovely surrounding. The temple is not only a house of the Lord, it's a place for His people to grow closer to Him. I would never have a home furnished as nicely as this, and as quiet as this. The temple fills and nourishes the soul of the poor. The poor also need this. When they thought about this their mood changed and they could see it in a different light. This is where we came to worship God and give our very best. The story of the woman with the alabaster box of spikenard, that was poured on Jesus head, wasn't wasting money that could have gone to the poor. Think about how much it meant to the Savior to be anointed before his burial. She was doing a good work as we do within the walls of His house.


Day 4095

Thursday, February 5, 2026

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 29:2, 7

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 29:2, 7
"When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice: but when the wicked beareth rule, the people mourn.
The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it."

In the chapters I read tonight considering or caring for the poor was mentioned so many times. I think you can know the heart of a man in the way he treats the poor and needy. It's not just to feed and cloth the naked and hungry, it's important to know what is causing the poverty and help lift them out of it. I pondered on the "Perpetual Education Fund" that is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

President Gordon B. Hinckley called it a "bold initiative".
“But we believe in the need for it and in the success that it will enjoy,” he said. “Where there is widespread poverty among our people, we must do all we can to help them to lift themselves, to establish their lives upon a foundation of self-reliance that can come of training. Education is the key to opportunity.”
("25 years later, 130,000 students have benefited from the Church’s Perpetual Education Fund loans", Church News, 3 Feb 2026)

Over 130,000 students in 76 countries have been blessed because of it. The effect blesses generations.


Day 3962

Thursday, January 1, 2026

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 73:3

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 73:3
"For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

I sat and had to wack my brain on where I had heard a story about the wicked being prosperous. I knew it was rather recent. Then I recalled, it was at the funeral of President Jeffrey R Holland the other day by his son Matthew. This is a transcript of the parable his father had related to him and his family.

"Children, there was once a diligent farmer who tried to do everything right. He never worked on Sunday. He always paid his tithing. He regularly served others with kindness and generosity. But, come October, his fall harvest was paltry.
By contrast, his neighbor was a vain and worldly man. He worked every Sunday. He hoarded every dollar he ever made. He acquired additional lands through questionable means. Yet, come fall, the worldly farmer enjoyed a bumper crop.
In his vanity, the worldly farmer gloated about this to his poor neighbor.
At this point in the story, my father’s voice broke, and tears started to trickle down his face as he continued: “The righteous farmer replied, God does not settle His accounts in October.”
Whatever other virtues my father had, the greatest source of his sweeping, righteous influence was his faith—his deep, rock-ribbed conviction that Jesus Christ is always and forever the unimaginably generous “rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Nothing, absolutely nothing, could persuade him that God was anything other than a high priest of good things to come, and that the restored gospel was a true gospel of happy endings, particularly for those who do their best to keep the commandments, receive their priesthood ordinances, and honor their eternal covenants.
Such faith is the thing we all most need, and the thing he most wanted to share."

I just loved that phrase "God does not settle His accounts in October."

(Start at 43:30)

Day 3927

Thursday, December 11, 2025

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 10:2, 6

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 10:2, 6
"The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity."

I pondered on why the wicked hated the poor? The poor would have no power over them. As I was going over this and other chapters I realized to see the poor is to fear being poor. That is why in their pride they say "I shall never be in adversity." They puff themselves up that they are better, and what better way to show that than to oppress the poor for their poverty. The wicked are also liars to themselves. They do not want to think that "there but for the grace of God go I."


Day 3906

Wednesday, December 3, 2025

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 29:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 29:16
"I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out."

This reminded me of the principles of self-reliance and the humanitarian efforts of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is not enough to help the poor by feeding and clothing them. What is truly needed is a help up so they can provide for themselves, and in turn help others. I love how the "Light the World Giving Machines" have donations that do just that. Chickens are not for people eat. They are to raise and sell eggs, and continue to replenish their flocks. Goats are not to eat. They are to raise and start a business to sell milk and cheese. There are seeds to grow crops to feed themselves and begin a business. Helping people to sustain themselves and their families effects generations.

Find a location near you. 


Day 3898

Tuesday, November 12, 2024

Today's Favorite Verse: Helaman 6:39-40

Today's Favorite Verse: Helaman 6:39-40
" And thus they did obtain the sole management of the government, insomuch that they did trample under their feet and smite and rend and turn their backs upon the poor and the meek, and the humble followers of God.
And thus we see that they were in an awful state, and ripening for an everlasting destruction."

If we see the poor, meek and humble followers of God being trampled we will know we are ripe for destruction. It feels like we are ripe and ready for this to fall on us in the "space of not many years". I keep thinking of the weeping, and wailing and gnashing of teeth". Yes, persecution will be dreadful, but with God you can have peace in the storm. What I would not want, is to be in the shoes of those that sanctioned it, and brought it upon others. That realization of what they had done would be a terrible grief to bare. I feel sorrow for them.

"Wherefore, O ye Gentiles, it is wisdom in God that these things should be shown unto you, that thereby ye may repent of your sins, and suffer not that these murderous combinations shall get above you, which are built up to get power and gain—and the work, yea, even the work of destruction come upon you, yea, even the sword of the justice of the Eternal God shall fall upon you, to your overthrow and destruction if ye shall suffer these things to be.
Wherefore, the Lord commandeth you, when ye shall see these things come among you that ye shall awake to a sense of your awful situation, because of this secret combination which shall be among you; or wo be unto it, because of the blood of them who have been slain; for they cry from the dust for vengeance upon it, and also upon those who built it up."
(Ether 8:23-24)


Day 3513

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 35:8-10

Today's Favorite Verse: Alma 35:8-10
"Now the people of the Zoramites were angry with the people of Ammon who were in Jershon, and the chief ruler of the Zoramites, being a very wicked man, sent over unto the people of Ammon desiring them that they should cast out of their land all those who came over from them into their land.
And he breathed out many threatenings against them. And now the people of Ammon did not fear their words; therefore they did not cast them out, but they did receive all the poor of the Zoramites that came over unto them; and they did nourish them, and did clothe them, and did give unto them lands for their inheritance; and they did administer unto them according to their wants.
Now this did stir up the Zoramites to anger against the people of Ammon, and they began to mix with the Lamanites and to stir them up also to anger against them."

Whenever I hear about people that are angry and prejudice against immigrants, legal or otherwise, I think about how such displaced people were treated in the Book of Mormon. The Nephites not only accepted the people of Ammon they willingly gave them the land of Jershon for their inheritance. Then when the Zoramites kicked out their poor and those that accepted the words of Alma, the people in Jershon received them. This is how we should treat others coming to our land. Except for a very few, we are all immigrants of one flavor or another. It is a wise purpose of the Lord that people are led here.

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore." ("The New Colossus", written on the Statue of Liberty)

"But, said he, notwithstanding our afflictions, we have obtained a land of promise, a land which is choice above all other lands; a land which the Lord God hath covenanted with me should be a land for the inheritance of my seed. Yea, the Lord hath covenanted this land unto me, and to my children forever, and also all those who should be led out of other countries by the hand of the Lord.
Wherefore, I, Lehi, prophesy according to the workings of the Spirit which is in me, that there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord.
Wherefore, this land is consecrated unto him whom he shall bring. And if it so be that they shall serve him according to the commandments which he hath given, it shall be a land of liberty unto them; wherefore, they shall never be brought down into captivity; if so, it shall be because of iniquity; for if iniquity shall abound cursed shall be the land for their sakes, but unto the righteous it shall be blessed forever. "
(2 Nephi 1:5-7)


Day 3479

Monday, December 5, 2022

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 19:17

Today's Favorite Verse: Proverbs 19:17
"He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again."

I was just reading in 4th Nephi about the people all being converted to the Lord after his coming. They had all things in common, and no poor among them. This was one of the notes I had copied into my scriptures.

"One of the attributes that distinguished the Nephite people was that “they had all things common among them” (4 Nephi 1:3). President Marion G. Romney described what this phrase means and how it worked: 
“This procedure [the united order] preserved in every man the right of private ownership and management of his property. … Each man owned his portion, which, at his option, he could alienate, keep and operate, or otherwise treat as his own. … 
“… He consecrated to the Church the surplus he produced above the needs and wants of his own family. This surplus went into a storehouse, from which stewardships were given to others, and from which the needs of the poor were supplied” (in Conference Report, Apr. 1977, 119; or Ensign, May 1977, 93). 
President Romney also explained what leads a people to live in such a way: “When we reach the state of having the ‘pure love of Christ,’ our desire to serve one another will have grown to the point where we will be living fully the law of consecration. Living the law of consecration exalts the poor and humbles the rich. In the process, both are sanctified. The poor, released from the bondage and humiliating limitations of poverty, are enabled as free men to rise to their full potential, both temporally and spiritually. The rich, by consecration and the imparting of their surplus for the benefit of the poor, not by constraint, but willingly as an act of free will, evidence that charity for their fellowmen characterized by Mormon as ‘the pure love of Christ.’ (Moro. 7:47.) This will bring both the giver and receiver to the common ground on which the Spirit of God can meet them” (in Conference Report, Oct. 1981, 132–33; or Ensign, Nov. 1981, 93). 

The restoration is not complete and one day we will live more fully the law of consecration. I do wish to live to see those days and participate in it.





Day 2806

Sunday, June 5, 2022

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 29:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 29:16
"I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out."

This made me think of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its mission to help the poor and needy. We don't just give someone money or provide everything for them. The need is accessed and with knowledge of the cause a way to lift the person out of it is the best approach in recovering their self-reliance.

It reminds me of the cyclone that hit Tonga in 2019. The church could have sent materials or money to rebuild the homes. Instead it sent a mini-sawmill to let the Tonjan's help themselves. With the saw they could cut up the blown over coconut trees for lumber to rebuild their homes. It's the same principle as "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." (Chinese proverb) With the sawmill in the hands of the Tongan saints, a vocational carpentry training program and additional tools were put in place. Helping them learn skills that would later generate additional income for them after the pressing need is relieved. That is a true hand-up and not just a hand-out.



Day 2624

Thursday, August 12, 2021

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 15:10-11

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 15:10-11
"Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.
For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land."

I pondered on how I have never experienced grief for helping someone in need. I've only experienced it when I haven't helped as I knew I should.



Day 2327

Monday, June 14, 2021

Today's Favorite Verse: Leviticus 19:9-10

Today's Favorite Verse: Leviticus 19:9-10
"And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.
And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God."

This made me think of mayonnaise jars and scrapping the bowl clean. I was raised on "Use it up, make it do, or do without". You never left anything remaining. You scrapped the last out of the mayonnaise jar, and took out every last bit from the mixing bowl. When I watch a cooking video it drives me nuts when the last bit isn't scrapped out of the bowl. I always think what a waste. I would have had an issue with not harvesting the corners of my field, or not gleaning every last piece of grain. The counsel was not just for the wealthy land owner, it was for the little farmer too. Something had to be left for the poor to recover. It wasn't given freely, they had to work to recover it.

This made me wonder how I was leaving something behind for the poor. Then I thought of my cooking pans I just threw away in the garbage can. Seriously, there was no life left in them. They were so bad I couldn't even give them to DI for someone else to use. The only value they held was their cost in dumpster space. This made me think that maybe I could lighten up on the "use it up" part, and replace sooner by donating more gently used items to DI. I have benefited so much by buying second hand. I have felt very blessed that I have been able to find things that I need at prices I can afford there. Maybe I could be a little bit more generous in my donations so others can benefit. It really is time to clean out the corners of my house.



Day 2268

Monday, December 14, 2020

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 83:6

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 83:6

"And the storehouse shall be kept by the consecrations of the church; and widows and orphans shall be provided for, as also the poor. Amen."

I reflected on how well organized the bishop storehouse is. What a beautiful purpose and mission it has. Members of my faith take this charge seriously. I found this tour that someone posted that was so in depth on the Church Distribution Center, and Bishop's Central Storehouse. It is just massive.


I guess what I would say that's key here is, this is for the poor and the needy, be it financial or from natural disasters. It's not intended as a means to feed the saints that have been unwise stewards and unprepared when shortages happen in the supply chain. What we experienced during this pandemic was a lot of panic buying that wiped out supplies for everyone. At that point the resources are low and the wisdom of having put a little aside for a rainy day doesn't appear so foolish. Many were caught unprepared and we can do better. Just like we make our homes an extension of the temple, our home pantries are an extension of a Bishop's Storehouse to feed our own.

Day 2086

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 56:17

Today's Favorite Verse: Doctrine & Covenants 56:17

"Wo unto you poor men, whose hearts are not broken, whose spirits are not contrite, and whose bellies are not satisfied, and whose hands are not stayed from laying hold upon other men's goods, whose eyes are full of greediness, and who will not labor with your own hands!"

The Lord left no doubt about how he feels when the poor behave is such manner. I pondered on how the greatest gift you can instill in a person is self-reliance and honest work. Even with that if the soul is not satisfied then their wants and desires will never be either. I remember how I always had a list of things that I wanted. I would no sooner get something when another thing would replace it on the list. One day I realized I no longer had that mental list. It wasn't that I now had everything I ever wanted. It was just that after years of reading my scriptures my soul was satisfied. I wasn't trying to buy things to fill the void that had been inside. It is amazing how satisfied you can be with less, when the soul is filled.

Day 2059

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:10

Today's Favorite Verse: 2 Corinthians 6:10
"As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things."

This reminded me of a scripture I had promised to find during family scripture reading this week. It was about seeking wealth.

"Think of your brethren like unto yourselves, and be familiar with all and free with your substance, that they may be rich like unto you.
But before ye seek for riches, seek ye for the kingdom of God.
And after ye have obtained a hope in Christ ye shall obtain riches, if ye seek them; and ye will seek them for the intent to do good—to clothe the naked, and to feed the hungry, and to liberate the captive, and administer relief to the sick and the afflicted.
(Jacob 2:17-19)

Our family had a discussion about deception and how this verse in Jacob can get twisted. Where people say they want wealth to help others, but in reality they are seeking wealth to help themselves and increase their standard of living. Then with the "surplus" they will "benevolently" give to others.

I think the true key to knowing if you are seeking wealth to help others, is if you are completely satisfied with what God has already blessed you with. There is no desire to improve your lot first. Your needs become very basic and simple, and you willing share what little you do have. The only way that is possible is by seeking the kingdom of God first. Then your soul is satisfied and the giving to others comes naturally. The basket is always full because you share what little you have and the Lord returns it back again, and you know it. Man's standard of wealth and riches has nothing to do with this. The most humblest of individuals can be the riches people on earth. This is not something that can be seen or judged with the outward eye.

"Seek not for riches but for wisdom; and, behold, the mysteries of God shall be unfolded unto you, and then shall you be made rich. Behold, he that hath eternal life is rich."
(Doctrine and Covenants 11:7)

As a beautiful example, Elder D. Todd Christofferson related this story in his Oct 2008 General Conference talk "Come to Zion".

"I remember the story of a Vietnamese family that fled Saigon in 1975 and ended up living in a small mobile home in Provo, Utah. A young man in the refugee family became the home teaching companion to a Brother Johnson who lived nearby with his large family. The boy related the following:

One day Brother Johnson noticed that our family had no kitchen table. He appeared the next day with an odd-looking but very functional table that fit nicely against the trailer wall across from the kitchen sink and counters. I say odd-looking because two of the table legs matched the tabletop and two did not. Also, several small wooden pegs stuck out along one edge of the worn surface.

Soon we used this unique table daily for food preparation and for eating some quick meals. We still ate our family meals while we sat on the floor … in true Vietnamese fashion.

One evening I stood inside Brother Johnson’s front door as I waited for him before a home teaching appointment. There in the nearby kitchen—I was surprised to see it—was a table practically identical to the one they had given to my family. The only difference was that where our table had pegs, the Johnsons’ table had holes! I then realized that, seeing our need, this charitable man had cut his kitchen table in half and had built two new legs for each half.

It was obvious that the Johnson family could not fit around this small piece of furniture—they probably didn’t fit comfortably around it when it was whole. …

Throughout my life this kind act has been a powerful reminder of true giving” (Son Quang Le, as told to Beth Ellis Le, “Two-of-a-Kind Table,” Liahona, July 2004, 45; Ensign, July 2004, 63).



Day 1657

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 72:13

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 72:13
"He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy."

The chapter header says, "David speaks of Solomon, who is made a type of the Messiah - He will have dominion - His name will endure forever - All nations will call him blessed - The whole earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord."

This verse made me think about the Sermon on the Mount. Given by the Lord in the New Testament and in the Book of Mormon after his resurrection.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(Matthew 5:3)

"Yea, blessed are the poor in spirit who come unto me, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
(3 Nephi 12:3)

Being poor and needy has nothing to do with money. It has everything to do with my heart and humbly turning to the Lord for deliverance. I need Him. Only then can He save my soul.



Day 1125

Monday, March 26, 2018

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 41:1-2

Today's Favorite Verse: Psalms 41:1-2
"Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.
The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive;  and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies."

These verses made me think of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. She is an absolute example of living this counsel. Feeding Elijah blessed her and her son and sustained them during the famine. Now I see this beautiful promise of the Lord. Having charity towards others, and he will show mercy in my time of need.

I found the video on "Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath" and enjoyed watching it again. It touched my heart when the video was first made, and the feeling is the same today.


Day 1094

Wednesday, January 31, 2018

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 29:16

Today's Favorite Verse: Job 29:16
"I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out."

Job lists the good thing he had done and how he had prospered for it. Rather sad when he mentions "when my children were about me" because they are no more. I stopped at this verse to ponder on it. I think it's saying that he did more than just give to the poor, he found out why they were poor, and helped them resolve their situations.

It made me think about the #LighttheWorld initiative. There was an opportunity to give chickens and goats to people so they could start their own little business selling eggs and milk. What a blessing that will be for them. Not just a handout but an hand up out of their situations.

The Chinese proverb "Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." may not appear in the bible. But, it appears Job practiced this principle, because it's an eternal truth.


Day 1040

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Kings 6:1, 29-30

Today's Favorite Verse: 1 Kings 6:1, 29-30
"And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month of Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.
And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.
And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without"

It made me cry to realize how long God's people had to wait before they would have a temple. It was the very first temple of God. The tabernacle was before it, but this was a permanent structure.  There was no wonder that such precious things went into it. For this was the house of the Lord, and it deserved the best of what they had.

I was once asked why my faith puts so much money into building our temples, when the money could have been given to the poor. I think in materials the temple of Solomon cost far more than what is put into the temple's today. We do not have gold covering the walls, doors, and floors. It is more modest in comparison, but nonetheless of the highest quality and beauty.

Christ said "For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always." (John 12:8)

As I sit quietly in the temple and pondered I have no idea the financial status of the person sitting next to me. I have been poor, and in ways still am, and my soul has been comforted by knowing I belong. I cannot explain the rest it has given my soul to sit in such beautiful peaceful surroundings when I could never have that beauty in my home. The temple offers more to me than any handout anyone could have given me. As I have come to rely on the Lord he has provided for me. I have come to learn that if you want to bless the poor, you bring them to the house of the Lord. In His holy temple he gives more than money can ever buy.


Day 872

Monday, April 10, 2017

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 16:17

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 16:17
"Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord thy God which he hath given thee."

I think I give as I should, but there is so much more I would love to give. Though I know it's foolish to give and go into debt.

This made me think of Mosiah 4:24-25
"And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I give not because I have not, but if I had I would give.
And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are condemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received."

Yet, I pondered on the poor widow that cast in two mites and the Lord said it was more, than all they that cast in the treasury. "She of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living." What is the balance for my life? I think I must be guided by the spirit. It will tell me wither I gave a good gift. And if I wish to give more than I am able I would do as found in Mosiah, in my heart wish I could give more. It can never be bad to wish I had given more. The Lord will know my heart.


Day 744

Sunday, April 9, 2017

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 15:11

Today's Favorite Verse: Deuteronomy 15:11
"For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land."

This is a subject that has touched my heart of late. I searched the scriptures for all the references of the poor and read them. I paused at the story in Luke 16 of a certain rich man.

"And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full or sores,
And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores."

It goes on to tell that the beggar dies and is carried by angels into the bosom of Abraham. The rich man dies and goes to hell. I thought about how this rich man did more than some people around me would do. He let the beggar sit outside his gate. In my local news, no one wants a homeless shelter anywhere near their neighborhoods, much less sitting outside their house. I pondered on where would such behavior leave us?

The poor will always be among us. There has to be a reason for that. I think there are lessons for both of us to learn. One thing I could see in my searching is there is no excuse for not helping them. As I sat and reflected on what I could do, I realized today is Fast Sunday, being more generous with my fast offering is a start.


Day 743