Poverty- a Christian View

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4. What should be the Christian response to world poverty? [JPR- 10 marks] Poverty remains a fact of life despite the economic progress by nations. Jesus’ says that “The poor you will always have with you…” (Matt. 26:11, NIV) is historically and globally relevant. According to the latest statistics, “ nearly 1/2 of the world's population — more than 3 billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in extreme poverty — less than $1.25 a day. 1 billion children worldwide are living in poverty. And as reported by UNICEF, 22,000 children die each day due to poverty and all of its attending evils such as hunger and epidemic diseases.” With more than 50% of human beings suffering from this social disease, what should a Christian do? How should we face this issue? Can we conquer it alone? Firstly, Christians should respond with the utmost mercy and grace. We should be tenderhearted. Having true compassion for the needy, as modeled by Jesus, means we are aware of the need, we care about the people involved, and we are ready to act on their behalf. Having compassion on someone who is poverty stricken is living proof that God lives within our hearts. It also displays that we, as Christians understand when Jesus died for us, he did it so that we would become more like him. the bible teaches us to forgive others as we would want God to forgive us. But we are also taught in one of the greatest commandments to love our neighbor as we would love ourselves. And what better way to show our love, by supporting them in harsh times and providind a body to lean on. Additionally, Christians should also acknowledge global poverty by action and activity- getting to our feet, going out and doing something to change the world. Certainly it is our duty to pray for the poor but there is so much more that we can do to help. We can go above and beyond, and
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