He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, But he who is gracious to the needy honors Him. (Proverbs 14:31 NASB)
When you oppress the poor, you mock God and provoke His wrath, but when you show them grace, you honor Him.
God cares for the poor a great deal. God expects us to humbly respect others, especially those whose status is “less than” our own.
We may not oppress the poor – we may not be in a position to – but we do not show them grace. Most of us probably hardly interact with them.
We need to show grace to the poor. We need to care for them. Otherwise we dishonor God and even risk His wrath.
If we forget about the poor, about whom God is deeply concerned, we are less like Christ than we ought to be.
We’re human and self-centered by nature, but His grace will empower us to overcome our self-centeredness and open ourselves up to others.