What many Christians don’t do nowadays is help the poor as Jesus taught.

Matthew 19:21 “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

Obviously this commandment is meant only for the rich young ruler. Or is it? Let me show you how consistent this commandment is for all believers across the gospels and Acts.

Luke 11:41; Luke 12:33; Luke 14:33; Luke 18:22.

Luke 11:41 “But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you.”

This one was for the Pharisees (the Jewish leaders at the time) that Jesus commanded. Give alms means to sell and give to the poor, by the way. He’s telling them to sell all.

Luke 12:33 “Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.”

That was instructed to the Apostles.

Luke 14:33 “So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.”

And to the multitude that listened to him speak on the Sermon on the Mount. And the last one, 18:22, was obviously for the rich young ruler.

Also in Acts 2:44-45 and Acts 4:32-35, we read that 8,000 Christians sold everything in obedience to what Jesus taught in those prior verses.

Acts 2:44-45: “And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”

Acts 4:32-34: “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul; neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them and brought the prices of the things that were sold.”

We can see that selling all of your personal things not only takes away personal ownership and possessions in obedience to Jesus when he said, “Don’t store treasures on earth,” but also fulfills another commandment of helping the poor. But the masses are taught the opposite, to store wealth on earth solely for themselves and accumulate as much wealth as they like in complete disobedience to what Jesus said.

Notice how Jesus said in Luke 14:33 that you can’t even begin to be one of his followers until you forsake (sell and leave) all that you have. We are not just talking about your perfume collection or your nice upgraded gaming computer. We are talking about all 52 acres of land, or one piece of land. Because most poor people only have one piece of land, like this man.

Acts 4:36-37: “And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas (which is, being interpreted, the son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

Jesus wants and commands you to sell your house (or possibly use it as is for other Christians and give it up later), your expensive car, your stocks in accounting, everything! Absolutely everything must be used for the Kingdom of God! Or you simply can’t be a Christian. Why? Because you’re holding on to worldly things, God can give it all back through other people; trust me, I know this to be true.

I want to paint this grand picture of other Christians that lived by these teachings as well to illustrate that I am not the only one guided by the Spirit to obey this commandment from Jesus.

Maurice Reuben was a wealthy Jewish businessman from Pittsburgh. He worked in the family company called “Solomon and Reuben,” described as one of the largest stores in Pittsburgh. He later became a Jewish Christian evangelist. His testimony directly influenced Rees Howells’ conversion in Pennsylvania around 1902.

In Reese Howl’s book, he writes…

“The way that Reuben saw it was that if Jesus had told that young man to sell all to inherit eternal life, how could he, Reuben, inherit the same gift unless on the same condition? Reuben faced it fairly and squarely and counted the cost. His wife might leave him, his brother put him out of the business, and not a single Jew followed him; he made up his mind; if he lost everything, he meant to do it.”

Reuben was quite wealthy, and after deciding to sell all and use the money for the poor, he was arrested and put into an insane asylum with nineteen other mentally ill people by his family. The reason he was labeled insane was because he told his family he heard God speaking to him. Later he was released on the account from the judge saying Paul the Apostle also heard God speak to him and was not labeled insane. The real reason he was thrown in there was because he was willing to leave his fortune for Christ, and that severely bothered his family. No sane person nowadays would do that, right?

Jesus told us our family will hate us, and we will have divisions in our families because of the decisions we make on his behalf. Matthew 10:36: “And a man’s foes shall be they of his household.” Obviously we want relationships with our earthly families, but it doesn’t always happen like that.

Another person was Reese Howel (mentioned previously), who sold all his belongings as well and decided to distribute the money to the poor.

“Mr. Howells was earning his weekly wage at the colliery and also had some other savings, but at this rate he saw that his money would soon be finished. It was then that the Spirit showed him both a commandment and a promise. To the rich young man, the Savior had given the command, “Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor. . . and come, follow Me.” And to those who did so follow, He had promised, “There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, but he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time.”

Notice how Reese saw that if he were to do this, he would receive many times more than what he left. The last example was George Müller, a man from Germany who took care of orphans in the U.K. and came upon the same teaching from Jesus.

“My wife and I had the grace to take the Lord’s commandment in Luke 12:33 literally, ‘Sell that ye have, and give alms.” We never regretted taking that step. God blessed us abundantly as He taught us to trust in Him alone. When we were down to our last few shillings, we told Him about our needs and depended on Him to provide. He never failed us.”

As we can see, this commandment from Jesus is taken as is and should be followed and has been repeated over and over again by sincere Christians. And realize they did not make the excuses like the churches today and say, “This command was only for the rich young ruler.” We covered that lie and have shown it commanded for all followers. There are many more sincere Christians I have for examples, probably too many to list here.

Paul also made a good point that when we let go of everything we personally own, God will give us back many riches.

2 Corinthians 6:10 “As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.”

Let’s say ten people have decided to sell their houses and cars or to temporarily use them as God directs. Imagine the wealth that comes from doing that. It can all be used for whatever you are lacking and for people who are seriously poor in a third world country. This is how the poor should be taken care of, and this is how our Heavenly Father takes care of us too. When those resources run out, God will inspire others to help us that are either believers or unbelievers; that’s how it works in my experience. Jesus promised we would receive one hundredfold of the same things we forsook.

Mark 10:28-30: Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s. But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”

On giving to the poor. Jesus said in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.”

The more we give true wealth to the poor, the more God will entrust us with more wealth, only to continue giving. If we by chance stop giving what God has given us, our abundance will dry up, and we will have nothing to give to the poor. That is the condition of this promise from Jesus.

Let’s say you still are in your profession or job and you do desire to help the poor; well, what’s stopping you? You certainly have a constant income; why not try to obey Jesus with this commandment? The more you give, I believe God will give you more to give. But with time, when he does give you more to help the poor, don’t be surprised if you feel a greater desire in your spirit to give not only your money to others in love but your time as well.

After all, Jesus commanded to work for God and not money. (Matthew 6:24) I want to be clear about money: God is not giving you money to accumulate it for yourself. He only gives it to you for things you need and for the poor. Selfish prayers are not granted by God, and that includes asking for money just so you can go window shopping. (James 4:3)

Matthew 25:40: “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.”

The word “least” can mean a couple of different things depending on context, but in this context, it’s referencing the poor. So now that that’s understood, let’s look at another verse that emphasizes the poor and helping.

Luke 16:10: “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”

Here is Jesus directly saying we should be faithful with helping the poor, and when we are, we are just (righteous) in much. But if we aren’t helping the poor, we are unjust (unrighteous) in much.

Luke 16:9: “And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness that, when ye fail, they (the poor people you helped) may receive you into everlasting habitations.”

Verse eleven repeats the same thing.

Luke 16:11: “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
The unrighteous mammon is just Jesus refrencing money, the money he gives us is to be used in the proper way, which is for the poor and not for our selfish desires. If we cant even manage what God gives us to help others, we will not be trusted with other things.

Notice the last phrase, “commit to your trust the true riches?” What is Jesus talking about? Does he want us to be trusted with literal wealth in the Kingdom of God as in guardians over gold and silver? Brothers and sisters, do you really think God would assign such a job in a kingdom where the streets are literally made from gold? We will be stepping on gold! There’s nothing to guard. No one’s coveting anything anymore; those things will be worthless. It’s just used for beauty and, apparently, as cement.

Jesus is hinting that if we are not trustworthy now with taking care of the widows, the orphans, the hungry, the sick, the blind, the crippled, the destitute, the uneducated, and the poor. How will we be entrusted with taking care of the residents of the Kingdom of Heaven? How can I be certain that is what Jesus is saying? Well, because of these hints in these verses.

Luke 19:17 (KJV)

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”

Luke 19:18–19 (KJV)

“And the second came, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained five pounds.
And he said likewise to him, Be thou also over five cities.”

This last verse is not a parable but a statement.

Revelation 5:10 (KJV) “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”

We will be stewards, servants, and leaders in charge of entire cities in the new earth and Kingdom only if we show God that we are capable of taking care of the poor and needy now in this life. Because how can the Lord trust us with the management of entire populations if we can’t even manage ourselves and others here on earth in obedience to him?

The sad truth is the poor and helpless rarely get attention anywhere; religious organizations from every walk of life simply do not help the poor. I should clarify, a massive percentage of them don’t help or do not help enough. Here is an example of religious people who say they have the answers and spiritual wisdom to life, yet in action and word do the complete opposite and commit outright evil actions. This is in India and how the high priests of Hindus around the 1800s were extremely hypocritical. These religious figures would be highly desirable to the public and the poor.

“I beg of my Western sisters not to be satisfied with looking on the outside beauty of the grand philosophies, and not to be charmed with hearing the long and interesting discourses of our educated men, but to open the trapdoors of the great monuments of ancient Hindu du intellect, and enter into the dark cellars, where they will see the real workings of the philosophies that they admire so much.

Let our Western friends come to India and live right among us. Let them frequently go to the hundreds of sacred places where countless pilgrims throng yearly. Let them go round Jagannath Puri, Benares, Gaya, Allahabad, Muttra, Brindraban, Dwarka, Pandharpur, Udipi, Tirpatty, and such other sacred cities, the strongholds of Hinduism and seats of sacred learning, where the Mahatmas and Sadhus dwell, and where the ‘sublime‘ philosophies are daily taught and devoutly followed.

There are thousands of priests and men learned in sacred lore, who are the
spiritual rulers and guides of our people. They neglect and oppress the widows and devour widows’ houses. I have gone to many of the so-called sacred places, lived among the people, and seen enough of those learned philosophers and possessors of superior Hindu spirituality who oppress the widows and trample the poor, ignorant, low-caste people under their heels. They have deprived the widows of their birthright to enjoy pure life and lawful happiness.

They send out hundreds of emissaries to look for young widows and bring them by hundreds and thousands to the sacred cities to rob them of their money and their virtue.

They entice the poor, ignorant women to leave their homes to live in the Kshetras, i e., holy places, and then, after robbing them of their belongings, tempt them to yield to their unholy desires. They shut the young, helpless widows into their large Mathas (monasteries), sell and hire them out to wicked men so long as they can get money; and, when the poor, miserable slaves are no longer pleasing to their cruel masters, they turn them out in the street to beg their livelihood, to suffer the horrible consequences of sin, to carry the burden of shame, and finally to die the death worse than that of a starved street dog!

The so-called sacred places, those veritable hells on earth, have become the graveyards of countless widows and orphans.” Thousands upon thousands of young widows and innocent children are suffering untold misery and dying helpless every year throughout this land, but not a philosopher or Mahatma has come out boldly to champion their cause and to help them. The teachers of false philosophies and lifeless spiritualities will do no good to our people. Nothing has been done by them to protect the fatherless and judge the widow. If anything has been done by anybody at all, it has been by those people who have come under the direct influence of Christianity.” [end of quote]

Does this sound familiar, friends? Jesus Himself condemned religious people who only used religion for power and show. The Pharisees (Jewish leaders) in Jesus’ time were so into their club of authority and respectability that they would outright devour widows houses and trample the poor for their own material gains.

Matthew 23:14: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayer; therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”

The short paragraphs I quoted were from a widow in India (her name was Ramabai) who was so into her religion (Hinduism, a highly respectable form that was above her own poor people) at one point that she finally saw it for what it actually was, a complete lie.

After going through famine around the 1800s, she noticed none of the false gods rescued her from the great famine she endured, and after losing both parents and almost her brother, she found faith in God instead. She helped thousands of widows (like herself) who were despised just because they were widows. She educated them and housed them. You might be thinking a widow is around the older years, like 40-60. No, not in India they aren’t; these were kids given into marriage very early, very normally around three and six. She realized the abuse and discrimination India’s religious culture had produced and decided to do something about it.

What Ramabai did in her lifetime was remarkable (I recommend reading her biography); she lived by example, and she copied her master Jesus. This is something we all should be doing. As Jesus taught, Ramabai left everything before helping the least. She forsook her high Hindu reputation at the time and all her wealth, her old life, and decided to obey Christ.

The religious world (especially in Western society) behaves much the same as the Hindu religious people did in that time. Oh, they are not doing terrible things as they have, but they sit in comfort in their seats and churches and lecture people twice a week and just collect money and leave it at that. Rarely teaching anyone to go out and obey Jesus and help the poor as He commands.

Let me give you my own personal example of what I mean when it comes to supposedly Christian churches and what they actually teach their followers.

I just moved to Texas and had a strong desire to serve God in some type of way. Either by becoming a full-time pastor or a missionary. I had dealt with my old, very sinful life, and I would rather not do anything else. I was attending a bilingual church, Spanish and English speaking. Furthermore, I was there trying my best to serve others and the church at the time.

I was there for about six months, and I wasn’t getting the proper help for going in the right direction in service to God full-time. I wanted to do more than just attend two or three days a week. It seemed like everyone was OK with just being there and socializing and going out and eating meals. So I decided to talk to Richard, the pastor.

After being invited out to eat, we sat down, and I plainly asked him, “What should I do for God?” Now mind you, I spent a good five years prior trying to get into a trade. All those years went into welding and railroad mechanics education to apply to the union for working on the railroad. Ultimately I was rejected because of a disability.

So back to the conversation at the restaurant table. I asked, and Richard tells me that I should, “get a good paying job.” I had no words at the time; I don’t remember saying anything in response to his answer. Here is a pastor telling me to go back and dedicate my time to making money instead of service to God. I was so disappointed; I couldn’t believe that was the advice I was given by a supposedly spiritual leader. Eventually I did become a full-time missionary, contrary to what Richard said.

My point is, the churches do not instruct their followers to obey Jesus and help the poor; instead, they teach to go out and pursue capitalism. Something Jesus never supported. Remember, “Woe to the RICH! For you have already received your reward!” (Luke 6:24)

Churches teach that it’s optional to disobey Jesus, that it’s not actually required for you to do good for the poor. That your salvation has nothing to do with doing good things as much as possible here and now. This is not an overstatement. It’s universally taught. Jesus blesses those who obey what he says. Read it in the next paragraph.

Matthew 25:31-40: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

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.

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, 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.”

Now read the next paragraph when Jesus judges the people who don’t TRY at all to obey Him.

Matthew 25:41-46: Then shall he also say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was HUNGRY, 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 hungered, 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 (the poor) of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal.”

Do you see how Jesus judges us or evaluates every man and what he does while on earth? Does this sound optional to you? I can tell you it’s not optional, as churches everywhere teach. It’s a command from the creator himself. The least you can do now is try your best to obey this one command and give what you receive in your job and see the Lord bless you in this area. And eventually he will draw you closer to other commands in the future. Hopefully convincing you to dedicate all your time to him instead of your job. Ultimately, you have the free will to choose to obey all that Jesus taught in the end.

Remember, Jesus is that CORNERSTONE that has been REJECTED by traditions of men. (Matthew 21:42) Those traditions are people like the Pharisees and Hindus who destroy the poor to increase their gain.

I certainly hope you, dear reader, are not one of those types of people. You may not be as heartless as the Pharisees and Hindus who were mentioned, but maybe you say, LORD, LORD, too much? If you do, there is always time to change. Please think about it and pray to the Lord Most High as well and ask him about it. Jesus has given you the answers in the gospels themselves; it is not always easy to obey, but worth a million times more than a good life here.

Matthew 7:24-27: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a WISE man, which built his house upon a ROCK: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it FELL NOT: for it was founded upon a ROCK. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a FOOLISH man, which built his house upon the SAND: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it FELL: and GREAT was the FALL of it.”