World leaders constantly claim that they hold the solution for how to rid the world of poverty. Yet, the Lord stated that mankind would always have a problem with poverty, at least until the millennium. Believers should be willing to help the poor but must keep in mind that they will never eliminate world poverty. According to Deuteronomy 15:11, “the poor shall never cease out of the land.” In other words, regardless of man’s efforts to give and help, there will always be a group of people who struggle financially. With this in mind, believers should not ignore the physical needs of the poor but should be most concerned with offering the poor spiritual help (Acts 3:6).
God expects loyalty from man. He is not interested in “worship” that involves Him being one of man’s many gods. In fact, He adamantly opposed this position within the Ten Commandments. There the Lord admonished His people to “have no other gods before” Him (Exodus 20:3). He then warned them not to make nor bow in worship to idols (Exodus 20:4-5). The Lord earned Israel’s loyalty in many ways, but the Bible specifically points to His delivering them from Egypt. It is important to note that God does not expect blind loyalty from man, but He certainly deserves this type of loyalty. He earned man’s loyalty by being his Creator. Yet His ultimate claim to loyalty stems from His offering to redeem fallen man though man is completely unworthy.
