He who despises his neighbor sins,

but blessed is he who is kind to the needy. Prov 14:21

He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker,

but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Prov 14:31

Many curry favor with a ruler,

and everyone is the friend of a man who gives gifts. Prov 19:6

He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,

and he will reward him for what he has done. Prov 19:17

If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too will cry out and not be answered. Prov 21:13

"The poor you have with you always," Jesus insisted on one occasion. And with the poor come knotty questions for all who view them with compassion: How can I meet so much need from my limited resources? How do I choose whom to help and whom to pass by? How do I balance the needs of the poor with  the requests for help from my children, my aged parents or my extended family?

The proverbs in this study help us in two ways. First, they guide us through the moral conflicts we encounter when confronted with the material neediness of others. Second, they give an antidote to the folly which exalts acquisitiveness as a social and economic virtue. Our prosperity, it turns out, may be a result of our  giving rather than our getting!

1. How do you tend to respond to requests for money which show starving  people in far-off lands?

2. Read the proverbs above. Is Proverbs 14:21 referring to all the needy in the world, or is a narrower group in view? Explain.

3. What needy people do you know who fall into that category?

4. The Hebrew original of Proverbs 14:31 is delightfully ambiguous. A translation that preserves the ambiguity reads: "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors him." Whose Maker is shown contempt by oppression—the poor man’s Maker or the oppressor’s Maker? Explain.

5. Whose Maker is honored by kindness to the needy—the needy person’s Maker or the kind person’s Maker?

6. Whatever your answer to the previous two questions, explain why God is either honored or dishonored.

7. What experience have you had with the problem mentioned in Proverbs 19:6?

How can we avoid that problem?

8. Do you think that the "friends" who flock around a generous giver are always a problem? Why, or why not?

9. Proverbs 19:17 implies a motive for giving that is almost never mentioned or, if mentioned, viewed as sub-Christian. What is it?

Why do you think people are uncomfortable with that kind of motive?

10. Suppose the mail carrier brings you a request for money to feed hungry orphans in some far-off land. Suppose further that you throw this appeal into the   wastepaper basket. Do you thereby call down on yourself the calamity Proverbs 21:13 speaks of? Explain.

11. Beginning this week, how can your giving to the poor reflect the wisdom of these proverbs?