With regards to the poor
The apostle John writes,
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” 1John 3:17,18
In the book of James we read,
"What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?
Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food.
If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless?" James 2:14-20
These scripture verses couldn’t be more strait forward. Christians, believers in Christ Jesus, are to help the poor. It’s not an option. We are called to help those in need. There are around 2000 verses in scripture calling believers to help the poor.
To me this means not only our churches but individual who claim to be Christian, be they pastors, evangelist, people in the pews, even politicians who claim to be Christians.
Tony Campolo the American evangelist said,
"These issues are biblical issues: to care for the sick, to feed the hungry, to stand up for the oppressed. I contend that if the evangelical community became more biblical, everything would change." Tony Campolo.
In the book of Proverbs we read,
"Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself call out and not be answered."
Proverbs 21:13.
Please think about it.
