“If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord — and he will repay you!” — Proverbs 19:17 NLT
There is a blessing that comes to us when we serve and help the poor. It may not– and likely is not– a financial blessing, but rather a blessing of the spirit. We see differently and we experience God differently because of those we have served. When we realize how God is working in the lives of other people, particularly the poor, it’s a humbling experience that impacts our own transformation.
In Luke 14:12-14, Jesus talks about not inviting only people who can pay you back. “Then he turned to his host. ‘When you put on a luncheon or a banquet,’ he said, ‘don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, and rich neighbors. For they will invite you back, and that will be your only reward. Instead, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. Then at the resurrection of the righteous, God will reward you for inviting those who could not repay you.’”
The kind of blessing Jesus speaks of is not just a future blessing, but a current one. When we connect with those who are close to the heart of God, he does deep things inside of us and we begin caring in new ways.