He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God. Proverbs 14:31

In WWII a young Jewish boy with his family and friends were gathered by the Nazi troops to be shot. They dug their own grave and then bullets ripped through the group, killing everyone except the boy who miraculously escaped injury. In trauma, he collapsed among the corpses and was buried as dead. The shallow grave provided just enough air to sustain him until nightfall. He then clawed his way out and ran for safety, yet because he was dirty, bloody, and naked each home rejected him. In the shivering cold he begged for help, but residents turned him away out of fear. Desperately, he tried a different approach. He timidly knocked at a door and cried, “Don’t you recognize me? I am the Jesus you say you love.” A kind woman embraced the little boy, took him in, and raised him as her own.

This boy was certainly needy, yet there were scores who rejected him, which meant they had contempt for their Maker. It offends the Creator when people neglect the poor, who are a part of His creation. Yet those who help the needy are blessed (Proverbs 14:21; 19:17). Take note that kindness is best realized when we recognize others as the Jesus we say we love.

“Kindness is the golden chain by which society is bound together.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe