Poor
The majority of people in the West have never experienced absolute poverty-a life with no hope of finding food, money or assistance. The Biblical authors, however, were well acquainted with it and wrote extensively about the social implications of poverty and wealth. Rich and poor, they said, are equal before God.

What should our response to the poor be? The Bible frequently stresses the importance of sharing with those who have less than we have, especially with the underprivileged who are trapped in their circumstances. In Biblical times, these people were usually widows with no children, orphans and the oppressed. While the poor exist in the West, many more live throughout the world. Nevertheless, the constantly shrinking global community allows us to impact the lives of the poor by caring for them as God commanded.

It's also possible to be "spiritually poor." In other words, it's possible to be physically rich, yet poor in our relationship with God. It's been said that comfortable lives are the church's curse, for in them, we cease to put God first in all we do and fall to recognize just how wretched our lives are without him as the center.

We should neither deprive the needy of justice nor snub them.
Exodus 23:6
Proverbs 22:22-23
Isaiah 10:1-2
Zechariah 7:8-10
God acts on behalf of the helpless.
1 Samuel 2:7-8
Psalm 68:5
Luke 4:18-19
We are to imitate God in caring for those who have less than we do.
Proverbs 14:21,31; 29:7
Luke 3:11
Acts 4:32-35
Romans 12:13
1 John 3:17
Recognizing our spiritual poverty allows God to fill us with his riches.
Matthew 5:3
James 2:5
Revelation 3:14-18