“He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker, but he who honors Him has mercy on the needy” (Proverbs 14:31).
“Am I my brother’s keeper?” asked the murderous Cain.
The Scriptures’ resounding answer is an emphatic “YES!” Over 4,000 years after Cain’s obnoxious question, the apostle John writes: “For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother…” (1 John 3:11-12).
No one can love the God he cannot see while hating the brother he can (1 John 4:20).
You cannot use your tongue to bless our God and Father, and with the same tongue curse men made in the likeness of God; these things ought not to be (James 3:9-10).
Jesus Himself declared that the first and great commandment (of loving God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength) is inextricably linked with the second (of loving your neighbor as yourself) (Mat. 22:37-39).
Giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, shelter to the needy, clothing to the naked, and/or comfort to the sick and imprisoned is doing it to the glorious King of heaven (Mat. 25:31-40).
Therefore, to mistreat or neglect the poor is to reproach the God who made him and you. To be merciful to the needy honors your common Creator.
