You must live with people to know their problems, and live with God in order to solve them.

One in five American children are living in poverty, and yet, according to the Barna Research Group, 'half of all adults did nothing at all in the past year to help a poor person' and 'few churches have a serious ministry to the poor.' With such crying needs and such self-absorption among God's people, surely things have never been worse.

He treated Abram well on her account, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels.

Now if your countryman becomes destitute and cannot support himself among you, then you are to help him as you would a foreigner or stranger, so that he can continue to live among you.

You may collect something from a foreigner, but you must forgive whatever your brother owes you.

If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother.

Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.

Be careful not to harbor this wicked thought in your heart: “The seventh year, the year of release, is near,” so that you look upon your poor brother begrudgingly and give him nothing. He will cry out to the LORD against you, and you will be guilty of sin.

For there will never cease to be poor in the land; that is why I am commanding you to open wide your hand to your brother and to the poor and needy in your land.

If he is a poor man, you must not go to sleep with the security in your possession;

be sure to return it to him by sunset, so that he may sleep in his own cloak and bless you, and this will be credited to you as righteousness before the LORD your God.

When you have finished laying aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you are to give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat and be filled within your gates.