Introduction
The responsibilities of the kingdom citizens on earth include promotion of social justice. Believers ought to make sure that the vulnerable people in our societies are well catered for. The church must stand against the exclusion of any person or a group of persons and advocate for their empowerment and total inclusiveness.
Supporting the Needy
It is not only the evil that a man does that takes him/her to hell, but refusing to do good to one´s neighbors. Deliberately withholding support from a person, irrespective of their age, sex, race, culture, political affiliation, health, disability, or sexual orientation, has the same magnitude as directly causing harm or doing evil to him/her. We read this from one of the parables of Jesus Christ, that:
“Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Mat 25:33-40 KJV).
The church must understand that their existence is not to build structures or walls but to meet the needs of humans, both within and without the church. The focus of the church must be on the development of the spiritual, physical, emotional and psychological needs of people. Thus, the work of the representatives of God must bring total restoration to mankind, especially, the aforementioned groups of people. The church cannot claim to be spiritual or religious if it fails in this regard. This makes Apostle James contend that pure religion and undefiled before God, the Father, is to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions and to keep themselves unspotted from the world (Jas 1:27).
Taking care of the poor and the needy was another core mandate in the ministry of the Jesus Christ and the His Holy Apostles. The care of the poor was emphasized by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, in their letter to the gentile (Acts 15). This letter has been referred to by Paul, in his epistle to the Galatians, that, when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars of the church, saw the grace that was given unto him, they gave him and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship and charged them to go unto the Gentiles so that they would go to the Jews. Paul and Barnabas were charged further to take care of the poor (Gal 2:9-10).
Whether the poor people are in Christ or not, God equally thinks about them. He makes sure that they receive justice with the fatherless, widows and strangers (Deut 10:18). He, therefore, says that cursed be to any person that denies the poor justice (Deut 27:19). The poor and the fatherless must be defended and justice must be done to the afflicted and the needy (Psa 82:3). It is also stressed that whosoever refuses to listen to the cry of the poor shall himself/herself cry but there would be no one to hear him/her (Pro 21:13). It is said that the poor shall always be in the land so the people of God should open their hands wide unto them (Deut 15:11).
Providing for One´s Enemy
Good must be done not only to those we love but also to our enemies (Rom 12:20-21). It is evidenced in the book of proverbs that if your enemy is hungry, give him/her bread to eat; and if s/he is thirsty, give him/her water to drink (Pro 25:21). The hungry and the poor that are cast out must be brought in, and if they are naked they must be covered (Isa 58:7). In doing these things, our lights shall rise in obscurity and our darkness would be like noonday (Isa 58:10). James, in offering his counsel, writes that if a brother or a sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and s/he is told by the believer to depart in peace and be warmed and filled, without giving to him/her what is/are needed, then the blessings pronounced amount to nothing (Jas 2:15-16).
Similarly, John strongly argues that “if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also” (1Jn 4:20-21 KJV).
John´s argument supports the answer of Jesus Christ to those on His left hand, the goats, saying “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Mat 25:41-45).
Conclusion
The church, and for that matter Christians, have the responsibility of ensuring that the poor and all vulnerable people in our societies receive justice. The church should make every effort to bring comfort and relief to the deprived, abandoned or the excluded in the society and ensure their proper integration and inclusion into these societies. In doing this, the dignity of the poor and the oppressed as the image of God shall be restored.
Prayer: May the Almighty God forgive us for neglecting the poor and the excluded in our societies and put the burden our hearts to commit ourselves to helping everyone in need of the church´s support. In Jesus ‘name. AMEN!