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"Blessed Is He That Considereth the Poor" |
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 "We are determined that the poor of the world shall be fed, clothed, housed and be enabled to labor in freedom, peace, health and happiness together." |
David was well aware that "you can't
preach to a man with an empty stomach." He knew that while a Christian's primary
obligation is to love God and preach the Gospel, there was also a fundamental duty to
materially help the disadvantaged and downtrodden whenever possible. "Jesus said the first and greatest commandment is to love -- to 'love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind ... and the second is like unto it,' it's almost equal, almost the same, 'thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself' (Matthew 22:36-40). "Those He was speaking to then asked Him, 'Who is my neighbor?' And with the story of the Good Samaritan, He tried to show them that it is anyone who needs our help, regardless of their race, creed, color, nationality, or condition!" [117] "We are politically and socially conscious. ... We ... want to have an influence in the world for good, and we believe in a social Gospel as well as a personal Gospel! We are also interested in social justice, economic justice, political justice, racial justice, etc." [118] "We are determined that the poor of the world shall be fed, clothed, housed and be enabled to labor in freedom, peace, health and happiness together to obtain their needs. ... We have dedicated our all that all may be free to live lives of happiness together in cooperation and Godly socialism, 'from each according to his ability and unto each according to his need.' "Freedom from want, freedom from bondage, freedom from pain, freedom from evil and freedom from fear -- these are our united goals! Mankind cannot be happy when hungry much of the time, enslaved by oppression, tyranny and exploitation, robbed by the rich, suffering the pains and pangs of hunger, malnutrition, disease, ill health, overwork, evil abuse, the tortures of war and constant conflict, and nightmares of perpetual fearful insecurity." [119] In late 1991, David wrote a letter entitled "Consider the Poor" in which he re-emphasized The Family 's obligation to minister to the needy: "Our Family needs to start looking around to see who is the worst off, who needs help the most, who is the most desperate for answers -- like Jesus did -- and minister to them! -- The drunks and the harlots and the publicans and the sinners! The Lord said He loves them -- the sort of people that nobody else cares to minister to, or at least not many. "The Lord is saying, 'Search out the needy, the lonely, the lost and the helpless and the homeless, the lowest of the low and those that nobody else wants -- and give them Jesus -- just like you did when you first started!' "This would also include ministering to such people as migrant workers, refugees, illegal aliens, minorities, unwed mothers, prostitutes, the neglected youth, drug addicts, the physically handicapped, and those in correctional institutions, prisons,orphanages and old folks' homes!" [120] This blossomed into what the Family refers to as their "Consider the Poor" ministries. Nearly every Family community is involved in some sort of regular outreach to those in need, as well as assisting in disaster relief projects around the world. |
