Proverbs 31: 20
The godly woman reaches out to those who are poor. She extends her hands to the NEEDY.
The Amplified Verson reads "She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit]." Poverty and neediness can be financial, mental, emotional or spiritual.
The solution to financial poverty is financial empowerment. Giving people money is rarely the solution to financial poverty; you're most likely to encourage them to feel entitled. If you give someone a piece of fish, he/she is most likely to come back to you for more fish. If you teach them to fish, they're more likely to stand alone and make something meaningful of their lives. Many of us have "helped" others become "economic liabilities". It's time for us to review the way we "help" the poor and needy.
If you're trying to get the poor/needy financially empowered and you're experiencing resistance from them, realize that the issue is not physical poverty; they may be dealing with mental poverty. Some may have spiritual reasons for remaining poor inspite of their best efforts. Insisting on financial empowerment at that time is not wise. The solution to mental poverty is a renewal of the mind. Before people dealing with mental poverty can experience a "breakthrough" that will eventually result in financial empowerment, they need to be delivered from the mindset that has kept them poor. They need to be taught that it's OKAY to be rich; it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to hell. They need to be taught that it's okay to have modern amenities without becoming heretics. The godly woman reaches out to the mentally poor/needy by teaching them to be who God has made them to be. She doesn't regurgitate the baseless fables and myths that have kept the mentally poor bound; she is a minister of the Gospel.
The emotionally poor/needy are insecure; they depend on other human beings MORE than they depend on God. If not properly managed, relating with them can be taxing and emotionally draining. The solution to emotional poverty/neediness is to help such persons become "emotionally empowered". If you continually give in to all their emotional demands, you are encouraging them to remain as they are and that's not helpful. The most helpful way to deal with insecure people is to help them get help. They need to get to the root of THEIR insecurities and face their fears. These people are likely to be verbal/emotional abusers. They are also likely to become victims of verbal/emotional abuse. The first step in helping them is to help them understand that God loves them and is ENOUGH for them. As they become more secure in God's love, they become less dependent on emotional support from others. Some will need to be treated for depression etc so please don't leave the matter at just leading them to Christ. Let God lead you on the next steps.
For the spiritually poor/needy, the solution is the Gospel. The godly woman is an ambassador for Christ. She is not ashamed to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor; she realises that it is the power of God unto salvation.
Of course, you can't shut your bowels of mercy. Let's hear from Apostle James on this one:
"If a brother or sister is poorly clad and lacks food for each day, and one of you says to him, Good-bye! Keep [yourself] warm and well fed, without giving him the necessities for the body, what good does that do? "
James 2:15-16
If someone is dying of hunger, that's not the time to register him/her for a skills acquisition programme. He/she needs to be alive first for them to attend the program. Meet the immediate need but devise a means so that they are not perpetually dependent on YOU for help...
Enjoy your day.
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