The King in a Cardboard Box

The King in a Cardboard Box Opening Prayer Poverty and homelessness are on the rise in the United States. In 2024, over 771,000 people were counted homeless across the nation. That’s an 18% increase year over year. In one of the wealthiest countries in the world, with all of our technology, natural resources, and freedoms, there shouldn’t be a single person without a home. Poverty and homelessness plague the United States as it does other countries around the world. It is a clear sign of sin, suffering, and abuse, as people struggle to survive in unthinkable places. One question many people ask is, “If God is so loving, and all powerful, why is there so much suffering and pain in the world? Why can’t He just snap His fingers and poverty, and homelessness disappear?” This seems like a very metaphysical or philosophical question, until you are sleeping on hard concrete. We often want to question the motive behind God’s sovereign will in our lives. Why does He allow people to experience poverty, or pain, or sickness, or death? The Bible has rich and nuanced answers to these hard questions, but you must be willing to listen. Every single Christian should have their faith settled on these questions, because our faith should drive our obedience to the Lord. Listen to the words of Jesus to His disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:31-40

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This passage of Scripture helps us understand God’s will for faithful believers. Those blessed by the Son of Man are the same people who practically serve the “least of these.” Jesus is making a very clear connection between faithful believers and selfless service. The recipients of this kind of love are the people who can’t pay you back for your service. Faithful believers are described as sheep rather than goats. The sheep are following their good Shepherd to greater acts of love and service. They are following Him with no expectation of reward, but simply because they love the Shepherd. This passage also helps us understand one of the key principles of heaven. It is not the proud, the powerful, and the strong who will enter into heaven. Instead, it’s the poor in spirit who will inherit the Kingdom. In Matthew 5:3, Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3 What does it really mean to be poor in spirit? I believe it means like the sheep in the passage above, we recognize our deep need for a Shepherd, and we are willing to follow where the Shepherd leads. To be poor in spirit is to humiliate oneself, to see your need for a Savior from sin. It is to see salvation not as a wage earned, but as a gift undeserved. To see yourself as poor in spirit is not something that comes naturally. It takes truly recognizing the ugliness and uncleanness of sin and the cost it will take to make you clean and whole. God’s desire for His people has always included serving the poor and homeless as a tangible lesson in humility. The Israelites are the handpicked people of God. They weren’t picked because they were the best, or the biggest, or the most faithful. Rather, God set His love on them because it pleased Him to do so. God desired the Israelites to treat each other as God treated them, to live as an example of the righteous and just rules He had given them. Listen to how Moses explains part of God’s Law in Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10-11. He said, “7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother, 8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. 10 You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. 11 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, ’You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor, in your land. Deuteronomy 15:7-8, 10-11 ESV

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Did you catch it? In verse 10, Moses says that the reason the Lord will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake is so that you will help the poor and less fortunate. God blesses you SO THAT you can help others. This is so countercultural in our individualistic and consumeristic society. We read these words and immediately think, SOCIALISM! God is not advocating for socialism, or any other ism for that matter. Instead, He is driving at the heart of His people and peeling back the curtains for all to see. Through Moses, God commands the Israelites to be generous, gracious, and helpful to the poor in their midst. He anchors this command in the blessings He will give them. The command to be generous to the poor and homeless isn’t just found in the Old Testament. In the New Testament the disciples see serving the poor as a reflection of God’s love. The apostle John says it this way in 1 John 3:17-18, “17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but indeed and in truth.” 1 John 3:17-18 ESV When Christians see a homeless person crying out for help, our first inclination should be to give, not judge. We should willingly give our time, our money, our resources to help others in need. When we close our hearts and turn our eyes away, we prove that the love of God does not abide in us. The poor and the homeless offer opportunities to prove that we love God. To love God is seen in the way we treat others, rather than the words that come out of our mouths. Behavior always flows from belief. Our actions follow what we think is true. God commands us to abide in His love, but if we close our hearts against the poor, we prove that we don’t really love God. How can we say we love God when we despise someone made in His image? How can we say we love God, when we reject His Word by avoiding caring for others? Christians should loudly show the love of God by caring for people who are suffering and in need of help. One of the greatest reasons Christians have to love the needy, the poor, and the homeless is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus humbled himself, becoming a man, serving others, and dying on the cross for our sins. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9 This verse is packed with purpose as we consider why Christians should serve the poor and homeless. Jesus possessed all things as King of the universe. He lived in perfect relationship with the Father, all things were made through Him. Yet, Jesus humbled himself and died on the cross so that Christians could obtain His righteousness. 3

Jesus’ humility compels Christians to do the same. We must humble ourselves for Christ’s sake, extending the same grace we receive. This is costly grace. This is the kind of grace that hurts, as we give of ourselves to help others. This grace makes giving for the right reasons possible, as we seek to glorify God for what He has done in our lives, and what He is doing in the lives of those we serve. Selfless giving is the result of true faith in Jesus Christ. Our faith is not in our service to the poor, but in the one who became poor for us. This is why Christians should willingly serve the poor and homeless. Isaiah 58:6-7 says, “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” Isaiah 58:6-7 ESV True service to the Lord requires feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, offering housing to the poor and homeless. When we turn our eyes away from people suffering around us, we expose our pride. Like the Israelites, we begin to view ourselves as superior and above helping others. This is a dangerous place to be spiritually, as we cut ourselves off from God. Let’s look closely at James 1:27: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James is not describing a works-based salvation. He is not saying, “If you care for widows and orphans, then you will be saved.” No—he is saying that if your faith is real, it will show itself in how you treat the most vulnerable. A faith that remains detached, aloof, and indifferent to the cries of the weak is not saving faith. It is counterfeit. Notice the balance James provides: true faith expresses itself in both compassion and holiness. On the one hand, we are to visit orphans and widows in their affliction—that’s compassion. On the other hand, we are to keep ourselves unstained from the world—that’s holiness. Real Christianity is not lopsided. It does not just serve the poor while living in unrepentant sin, nor does it retreat into a bubble of personal holiness while ignoring the needs of others. It is both vertical devotion to God and horizontal love for neighbor. That is what makes it pure and undefiled. James emphasizes evidence of faith, not a means of salvation. He is pointing to fruit, not root.

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Now, Proverbs 19:17 says: “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.” This verse emphasizes the reward side of generosity. When you open your hand to the poor, you are in essence making a deposit into the treasury of heaven. God sees, God remembers, and God repays. But this is not the same as James 1:27. James focuses on the evidence of faith—that a pure faith reveals itself in compassion and holiness. Proverbs focuses on God’s promise—that He Himself will honor the one who gives to the poor. One is about proof of authentic religion; the other is about God’s repayment and blessing. And that repayment is not always material—it may be spiritual growth, eternal reward, or the joy of God’s presence. Put them together, and we see a full picture: genuine faith produces compassion, and God in turn delights to bless that compassion. This is where we must tread carefully, because there are dangers on both sides. The poverty gospel twists Scripture to say, “The poorer you are, the holier you are.” It romanticizes suffering and condemns material blessing as inherently evil. But Scripture does not teach that poverty is godliness. Abraham was wealthy, David was a king, and Lydia was a prosperous businesswoman. The issue is not what you have, but whether your heart worships God or money. Poverty in itself cannot save you. Only Christ can. On the other extreme, the prosperity gospel teaches, “If you obey God, He will make you healthy, wealthy, and successful.” It turns faith into a business transaction and reduces God to a vending machine. But Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). Many of the apostles died in poverty and persecution. If prosperity were guaranteed, they must have been the most faithless men alive—yet we know the opposite is true. Both the poverty gospel and the prosperity gospel miss the heart of God. One idolizes suffering, the other idolizes success. But the true gospel teaches us to be content in Christ, whether we are in abundance or in need. As Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” So here is the balance Scripture gives us. Proverbs 19:17 motivates us with promise. God sees and rewards generosity. James 1:27 tests us with evidence. Pure faith cares for the afflicted and stays unstained by sin. Proverbs 29:7 remind us of justice. The righteous man understands the rights of the poor. Proverbs 14:21 warns us that despising our neighbor is sin, but blessing follows compassion. Put it all together and you see that the care of the poor is not optional, not peripheral, but central to a life shaped by the gospel.

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Let me leave you with this: our eyes must be on Jesus. If you serve the poor to be seen, you will be disappointed. If you serve the poor to feel better about yourself, you will be empty. If you serve the poor because you think it will save you, you will still be lost. But if you serve the poor because Christ has served you, if you open your hands because He opened His hands on the cross, then your service becomes worship. When you see the face of the homeless man, see Christ. When you feed the hungry child, remember you are feeding Him. When you clothe the destitute, remember you are clothing the King. And one day, when He comes in glory, you will hear Him say: “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Amen. Yours in Christ, Chris A. Rice

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