Bible verses about helping others explained in an up-to-date way
The Bible is the holiest books for so many people. The teachings from the Bible only ask us to move ahead and stay spiritually uplifted in our daily life. Reading the Bible daily can cure us of all our illnesses (mental which effect physical) thereby paving the way for a positive environment. Having a positive outlook on life will only help you move ahead and grow in the future.
In our lives, we come alone and we exit the Earth alone. But in our journey of life, all of us need some help. Although we play our parts alone and exit, our life journey requires us to help our surrounding fellow mates. Our fellows should be an equal part of our happiness and in our sadness. If we share our sadness with others, the Jewish people believe sharing our blessings is important too.
The journey of life is never alone, even if the starting and the ending are meant to be alone. The Jewish people in High Holidays like Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur believe in giving alms, or helping others stating that it is one of the holiest things to do in Jewish culture.
The Jewish symbols and scriptures over the years have asked us to be helpful and kind towards others, whether they are below us or above us, if we have the capacity, we should always try our best. Sharing our blessings with the community will help everyone grow.
As much as individual growth, communal growth is important too. People adopt different procedures like volunteering with a local charity or donating alms for a good cause. If you have a pure motive, God will always help you.
How to share your blessings?
Everyone has their own ways of sharing blessings. The best way to share blessings is to talk to others. Anyone who goes through a tough time will need emotional support to get away with the tough times.
The Bible verses are a reminder of how grateful we should be. The Jewish holy books constantly remind us of the importance of being grateful and helping others.
These textbooks remind us that the best way to serve God is to serve mankind. Sharing your blessings and the word of God is one of the best ways to bring love in the world.
Anyone who is devoted to the Lord will completely be able to bring the change. It is not easy but it can always help you get through. Once you know how to spread the word of God, you will be able to find the right way to spread the word of God.
No matter how much you have to give, you will notice changes as long as you’re doing it with a pure intention. The Bible verses about helping others talk about what we reap are what we sow.
God has always called for serving humanity and bringing light to Earth. Helping others will bring light to everyone. Also, many wouldn’t believe but being thankful can often be rewarding. These Biblical verses are a great indication that by serving others you are serving God.
Bible Verses about Helping Others
The Bible is focused on the concept of helping and being thankful to God and helping others on needs. A brother or a sister who needs us, will always require to be taken over. We should look after others and God will eventually shower his mercies on us for our good deeds.
Read through the Bible verses from the Hebrew Bible about helping others so that you can bring a change in yours and everyone’s lives around you.
“He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
The Lord is a merciful figure who treats his poor and rich children equally. The Proverb 19:17 is a gentle reminder that we should be thankful for what we have. Despite being the same God’s children, we may be in a much better place than others. And the ones who are not in the same position as ours will need us. God is a kind figure who will take care of his children.
The verse is a gentle reminder of being charitable and giving alms to the poor because it is a reward on its own. The verse brings out the importance of being compassionate who do not hold the same position as us or are less fortunate than us.
The Bible verse of helping others in times of need states that being compassionate to the less fortunate ones will bring us to reward or the same compassion.
According to the verse, God considers giving charity to the poor, as if it was given to God. The attitude to charity in Jewish culture is one of the cornerstones. In Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur prayers, charity is one of the three things (along with repentance and prayer) that can convey the evil of the decree.
According to the Jewish faith, on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, God determines our fate to the next year and determines whether we will live or die, whether will we be healthy or sick, whether we will be rich or poor, etc … and giving charity to the poor can change a bad decree.
For this belief, the Jewish culture suggests its people to donate alms routinely but especially during High Holidays like Yom Kippur. It is not always necessary to share money. One can always choose to donate or share other aspects such as food, or clothing that the less fortunate ones may lack.
“The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”
This ancient and short verse says what every scientific study today proves about giving. Happiness is in giving. He who gives receives mental satisfaction that means happiness. This is not about giving huge sums, this is not about giving millions of dollars but it is simply about the act of giving.
You can give a little, you can help physically, you can help with food. Every form of help to others comes back to us directly not metaphysically but immediately mentally.
It affects us for the better. In Eastern cultures, we are familiar with the concept of karma which means, the results of our actions will come back to us but this verse is much more specific. The verse is giving us the formula for happiness in short and simple words: you are a helper, you are happy.
“Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it.”
If the previous verses referred to giving itself, this verse comes and says two more things. First, if you have a chance to help, help. Do not deprive it of those who deserve it and need it. That is, be spontaneous and act fast. Those who need help need it here and now, not in a week or a month.
A relevant example could be related to the trendy topic of sustainability. If you have old clothes you do not need, toys that are no longer played with, do not throw them in the nearest trash can, and do not be lazy. Make sure they reach those who need them.
Do not deprive the good of its owner; that is what the verse says. Do not deprive them of the help they can get. And the extra bonus you get (and the verse doesn’t say that …), you helped the environment by not throwing plastic or textile or glass in the trash.
The second thing the verse says, do not interfere with others helping those in need. I think we all understand the intent of the verse. And unfortunately, there are those who not only do not help but also try to persuade others not to help, for all sorts of reasons, which may even sound completely rational.
For example, do not give charity to the poor because we also have no money. Do not help; you do not have time anyway. When you want to help, there is always money or time. Everything will always drain to our personal choice.
“For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.”
The verse refers to the fact that the world will never be devoid of poor people. There would always be a balance between rich and poor people.
It is the responsibility of the fortunate or rich people to give out to poor people. Serving alms to the poor people and helping them in their need, from food to shelter can bring them positivity.
Here is the place to say a few words about how Judaism perceives the world. Judaism treats human beings as they are, for their advantages and disadvantages. A human being can be good and can be wrong.
Judaism does not think it is possible to “program” people who will become good forever. People will always sin, even good people. Sin is a part of human nature and cannot be escaped. Judaism does require us to wage a struggle against the so-called “Yetzer Harah” (congenital inclination to do evil) but understands that sometimes the Yetzer Hara wins. So there is room for remorse, apology, and repentance.
In the same way, Judaism sees the human social structure is imperfect. Just as a person cannot be programmed to perfection, the social structure cannot be programmed to perfection. There are mechanisms in Jewish law that strive to order the social system well and make it as moral as possible.
Judaism seeks for the perpetual correction of human morality but understands that it is an endless task for one unchanging reason: human nature. Judaism is the antithesis of ideologies that believe that human society can be engineered and promoted toward utopia. The most prominent example is Marxism / Communism.
The verse explicitly says the poor will always be in the land, and therefore there is the constant commandment to help the poor. The verse explicitly says the poor will still be in the land, and therefore, there is the continuous commandment to help the poor. Human beings are not equal. Inequality is built-in human existence for better or worse. And in an imperfect world, human beings must do their best to make it a better place, not by coercion but by their free choice.
“He that hath a bountiful eye shall be blessed; for he giveth of his bread to the poor.”
The poor people of this world are devoid of many things, from food to shelter. In such tough times, it becomes extremely difficult to keep up. Although the Lord bestows His blessings upon everyone, not all of them can get the favor of God. Hence, the verse focuses on the importance of human beings to be generous.
The verse, bringing forth the concept of generosity states that the ones who are ready to give and share whatever they have with the poor people will receive blessings from God. One shouldn’t expect anything in return and keep serving, God will bestow His blessings upon when the right time comes.
“He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.”
The verse talks about the importance of being selfless. In today’s world, people have become very self-centric where they focus on what is important to them. Hence, in times like this, it becomes extremely important to be there for the other.
The world will always have rich and poor people, and it is their responsibility to work with it. Not everyone is charitable. The verse, talking about the importance of selflessness, says that one should give out to the poor selflessly.
Anyone who gives or shares or donates their belongings to the poor people will be blessed, but one who hides eyes and doesn’t give despite noticing the need of the people will always receive curses from God. To disregard the needs of the poor is to disrespect God.
We can understand this verse in a simple psychological meaning, not just in the religious sense involving God.
According to the verse, he who gives of his wealth to the poor will have no shortage. But as we know human nature, money is always lacking, even for rich people. When there is a thousand, we want two thousand, and when there is a million, we want two million, and so on.
The desire for more money and property will never be quenched or stopped anywhere. And since no one returns us money we donate, the word scarcity refers to our mental state after giving. As we have written before, giving brings satisfaction and happiness, and when there are satisfaction and joy, the feeling of deprivation is not felt or less noticeable. We are happy with what we have, even if we strive to achieve more.
Those who do not give, the curse is the punishment they punish themselves. They are focused on themselves and their capital. And since the appetite for money can never be satisfied, they are in a vicious circle of dissatisfaction, leading to frustration and mental suffering.
“He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.”
This verse refers to those who do worse than not helping poor people, oppress those who miserable. According to the verse, he who covets the poor is equal to the one who curses God, and he who helps the poor honors God. Unlike other sins that appear in the Bible as evil deeds worthy of punishment, oppression of poor people appears at the end of the scale of evil deeds, as a war against God, and vice versa.
7. [Is it] not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8. Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward. 9. Then shalt thou call, and the LORD shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I [am]. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, the putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10. And [if] thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness [be] as the noonday: 11. And the LORD shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
The chapter begins with God’s rebuke to the people of Israel. Isaiah addresses, in the name of God, the people of Israel and repeats the questions they address to God: “Where is God?” “After all, we fast and torture our souls but do not feel the closeness of God”? “Where is the judgment of God?”
And God answers, through the prophecy of Isaiah, to all these and tells the people of Israel that he is not interested in fasting neither nor interested in torturing the soul.
Then the Prophet goes through a list of deeds that God does ask. Give food to the poor, shelter them, do not close your eyes to human suffering.
The Prophet not only speaks of the satisfaction of physical deprivation, but he also says of mental assistance to those who need it (verse 10). When you behave in this way, you will be genuinely moral. This will be the right way to worship God; this is the “worship” God wants in him. When you call on God, he will answer you, he will be there for you, as you are there for those who need help.
The Prophet Isaiah goes on to say, when you do all this, your light will shine. The Prophet, of course, means the moral light that will shine from the people of Israel as a result of a culture of helping the poor.
In today’s terms, we can interpret as positive energies.
When we do good deeds, their impact is not only on those who enjoy our good deed,s and it is also not only on those who have done the good deed, but they have an impact in wider circles that we are not always able to see and understand.
“Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.”
The verse is taken from the first chapter of Isaiah. The whole chapter is reminiscent of the previous chapter that appears in this article, although it is much more powerful. This chapter is the opening of the book of Isaiah and outlines all the prophecies of Isaiah.
Isaiah begins the prophecy with a very harsh rebuke to the people of Israel. After the rebuke, Isaiah says things that resonate to this day. God is not an object of religious worship. Religious worship has no meaning if a moral society does not accompany it.
God is not interested in prayer, and His “ears” are closed to the voice of prayer. He wants a moral society, a community that helps the weak within it, a culture that helps orphans and widows, a society that upholds justice. According to Isaiah, God measures the people of Israel according to justice and charity. In Hebrew, these are two almost identical words, with a difference of only one letter.
“Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.”
We can say that the common denominator for almost all the verses we have seen so far, according to Isaiah and King Solomon (Proverbs), God treats the poor. When it comes to helping the poor, turning a blind eye to the poor or worse, the oppression of the poor, God takes things “personally.” Since God is an abstract entity, and we cannot attribute human emotions to it, we use metaphorical language that will help clarify things.
According to the verse, he who seals his ears from hearing the poor, God “seals his ears” from hearing him pray and ask for himself. If you believe in God, pray to Him, and want His help, first open your eyes to what is happening around you and see who you are ignoring. Who needs your support but does not get it because you are not available to him.
“The righteous considereth the cause of the poor: but the wicked regardeth not to know it.”
The verse draws a clear line between the righteous and the wicked. A person who knows how to behave with poor people is moral. He who does not know is evil. This diagnosis can be outrageous at first glance, mainly because it is quite simplistic. Are we judged only by our help to the poor? Is that the only thing that makes us good or evil?
Probably not. But King Solomon assumes that a person who is unwilling to help people in need is a person who has many moral problems, which lead him to behavior that is manifested in ignoring people in need. A reluctance to help those in need is a bottom line and sums up a problematic human nature. And vice versa, a person who is willing to help others, a person who is willing to give his own to people he does not know, is a person who is very moral.
“He that despiseth his neighbour sinneth: but he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he.”
In the verse, neighbor means fellow mates; they can be known as well as the unknown. As human beings, we shouldn’t hate our peers but always be there for them. Helping others will bear fruitful results and contribute to our growth as well.
Anyone who hated his neighbor is a sinner, for he disobeys the laws of God and despises his greatest creation.
But anyone who is generous to the poor and helps the needy people will always receive love and blessings of God.
“Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”
The verse addresses the legal issue and how society allows the weak to defend themselves in a legal proceeding. The verse calls for the administration of justice and to allow even the weak to protect themselves. In the modern world, legal protection costs a great deal of money, and those who do not get it are harmed.
In a democracy, a free legal defense is allowed for every person, but such legal protection cannot compete with professional legal protection. And yet, the verse demands justice also for the poor.
But there is another aspect to the verse. Sometimes, poor people get legal discrimination because of their weakness. Judgment in favor of the weak because he is weak is not a trial of justice but a bias of justice. There are several verses in the Bible against this.
“All my bones shall say, LORD, who is like unto thee, which deliverest the poor from him that is too strong for him, yea, the poor and the needy from him that spoileth him?”
“For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.”
9. And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. 10. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather [every] grape of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I [am] the LORD your God.
“For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.”
