Q: Some people say that helping the poor is an individual thing, and that the Bible does not want the government to be involved.  Is this true?

A:  45 Bible passages specify, demand, or imply government action in helping the poor, often described as helping the widow and the orphan.

Isaiah 10:1-3 
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!  What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? 

I included these passages in the sections on the Old Testament and the poor, or the New Testament and the poor.  I present them again to answer the question about government involvement.   

In these first 15 passages, a government figure (prince, king, ruler, shepherd, nations, etc.) is specified:

1.  Psalm 72:1-13
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.  May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice ... May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor ... For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.  He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

2.  Psalm 107:39-41
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of distress.

3.  Proverbs 28:3 
A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

4.  Proverbs 28:15-16
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.  A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.

5.  Proverbs 29:14
If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be established forever.

6.  Isaiah1:10-17
Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!  Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams ... bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me ... I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity ... Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 

7.  Isaiah 1:21-23
How the faithful city has become a whore!  She that was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her -- but now murderers!  Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water.  Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves.  Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts.  They do not defend the orphan, and the widow's cause does not come before them.

8.  Isaiah 3:14-15
The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people; It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.  What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts.

9.  Isaiah 14:32
What will one answer the messengers of the nation?  "The Lord has founded Zion, and the needy among his people will find refuge in her."

10. Ezekiel 22:23-25
The word of the Lord came to me:  Mortal, say to it:  You are a land that is not cleansed, not rained upon in the day of indignation.  The princes within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken teasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.

11. Ezekiel 34:2-4
Thus says the Lord God:  Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!  Should not shepherds feed the sheep?  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.  You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.

12. Ezekiel 34:7-10
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock.  I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves.  I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

13. Daniel 4:27
Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.

14. Matthew 25:31-46
[Jesus says] "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.  Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'  And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'  Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'  Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'  Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

15. Luke 18:18, 22
A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ... When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking.  Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Commentary on tax policies and deficits (3 passages):

16. Proverbs 22:16 
Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.

17. Luke 6:38 
[Jesus says] “. . . give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

18. Luke 12:48 
[Jesus says] From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Instructions for politicians; actions that only a government can accomplish (Four passages):

19.  Isaiah 10:1-3 
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!  What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? 

20. Isaiah 32:6-8 
For fools speak folly, and their minds plot iniquity; to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.  The villainies of the villains are evil; they devise wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.  But those who are noble plan noble things, and by noble things they stand.

21. Jeremiah 8:19-22 
Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land ... For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.  Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?

22. Amos 8:4, 7 
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land ... The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:  Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Government regulations on helping the poor (7 passages):

23. Exodus 23:10-11
For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that they poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat.  You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. 

24. Leviticus 14:21 
But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil

25. Leviticus 19:9-10 
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.

26. Leviticus 23:22 
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.

27. Leviticus 25:25 
If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall redeem what the relative has sold.

28. Leviticus 25:35-36 
If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.  Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.

29. Leviticus 27:8 
If any cannot afford the equivalent, they shall be brought before the priest and the priest shall assess them; the priest shall assess them according to what each one making a vow can afford.

Fourteen passages that use "you," "those," "us," etc., that does not exclude government officials.  I include these because Proverbs 3:27 (below) orders everyone, including senators, representatives, governors and presidents, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it."

30. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 
If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.  You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.  Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

31. Deuteronomy 22:1-3 
You shall not watch your neighbor’s ox or sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall take them back to their owner.  If the owner does not reside near you or you do not know who the owner is, you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until the owner claims it; then you shall return it. You shall do the same with a neighbor’s donkey; you shall do the same with a neighbor’s garment; and you shall do the same with anything else that your neighbor loses and you find.  You may not withhold your help.

32. Deuteronomy 27:19 
"Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.”  All the people shall say, “Amen!"

33. Proverbs 3:27 
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

34. Proverbs 17:5 
Those who mock the poor insult their Maker.

35. Proverbs 21:13 
If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.

36. Proverbs 22:9 
Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor

37. Proverbs 29:7 
The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding.

38. Proverbs 31:8-9 
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of the destitute.  Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

39. Lamentations 4:3-4 
Even the jackals offer the breast and nurse their young, but my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.  The tongue of the infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives them anything.

40. John 14:12 
[Jesus says] Truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

41. James 1:27 
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

42. James 2:14-16 
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 

43. 1 John 3:17-18 
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?  Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

Condemnation of spiritual leaders who preach to oppress the poor (2 passages):

44. Micah 3:5-6 
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths.  Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation.

45. Luke 20:46-47 
[Jesus says] “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.  They will receive the greater condemnation.”

Q: Some people say that helping the poor is an individual thing, and that the Bible does not want the government to be involved.  Is this true?

A:  45 Bible passages specify, demand, or imply government action in helping the poor, often described as helping the widow and the orphan.

Isaiah 10:1-3 
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!  What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? 

I included these passages in the sections on the Old Testament and the poor, or the New Testament and the poor.  I present them again to answer the question about government involvement.   

In these first 15 passages, a government figure (prince, king, ruler, shepherd, nations, etc.) is specified:

1.  Psalm 72:1-13
Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.  May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice ... May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor ... For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.  He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

2.  Psalm 107:39-41
When they are diminished and brought low through oppression, trouble, and sorrow, he pours contempt on princes and makes them wander in trackless wastes; but he raises up the needy out of distress.

3.  Proverbs 28:3 
A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

4.  Proverbs 28:15-16
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a poor people.  A ruler who lacks understanding is a cruel oppressor; but one who hates unjust gain will enjoy a long life.

5.  Proverbs 29:14
If a king judges the poor with equity, his throne will be established forever.

6.  Isaiah1:10-17
Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom!  Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!  What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams ... bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me ... I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity ... Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. 

7.  Isaiah 1:21-23
How the faithful city has become a whore!  She that was full of justice, righteousness lodged in her -- but now murderers!  Your silver has become dross, your wine is mixed with water.  Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves.  Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts.  They do not defend the orphan, and the widow's cause does not come before them.

8.  Isaiah 3:14-15
The Lord enters into judgment with the elders and princes of his people; It is you who have devoured the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses.  What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? says the Lord God of hosts.

9.  Isaiah 14:32
What will one answer the messengers of the nation?  "The Lord has founded Zion, and the needy among his people will find refuge in her."

10. Ezekiel 22:23-25
The word of the Lord came to me:  Mortal, say to it:  You are a land that is not cleansed, not rained upon in the day of indignation.  The princes within it are like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken teasure and precious things; they have made many widows within it.

11. Ezekiel 34:2-4
Thus says the Lord God:  Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves!  Should not shepherds feed the sheep?  You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.  You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.

12. Ezekiel 34:7-10
As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, because my flock lacks a shepherd and so has been plundered and has become food for all the wild animals, and because my shepherds did not search for my flock but cared for themselves rather than for my flock, therefore O shepherds, hear the word of the Lord:  This is what the Sovereign Lord says:  I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock.  I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves.  I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.

13. Daniel 4:27
Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for your sins with righteousness, and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.

14. Matthew 25:31-46
[Jesus says] "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.  Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that 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 something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’  Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink?  And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing?  And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?'  And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'  Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.'  Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?'  Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'  And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

15. Luke 18:18, 22
A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” ... When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking.  Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

Commentary on tax policies and deficits (3 passages):

16. Proverbs 22:16 
Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.

17. Luke 6:38 
[Jesus says] “. . . give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”

18. Luke 12:48 
[Jesus says] From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded.

Instructions for politicians; actions that only a government can accomplish (Four passages):

19.  Isaiah 10:1-3 
Ah, you who make iniquitous decrees, who write oppressive statutes, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be your spoil, and that you may make the orphans your prey!  What will you do on the day of punishment, in the calamity that will come from far away? 

20. Isaiah 32:6-8 
For fools speak folly, and their minds plot iniquity; to practice ungodliness, to utter error concerning the Lord, to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied, and to deprive the thirsty of drink.  The villainies of the villains are evil; they devise wicked devices to ruin the poor with lying words, even when the plea of the needy is right.  But those who are noble plan noble things, and by noble things they stand.

21. Jeremiah 8:19-22 
Hark, the cry of my poor people from far and wide in the land ... For the hurt of my poor people I am hurt, I mourn, and dismay has taken hold of me.  Is there no balm in Gilead?  Is there no physician there?  Why then has the health of my poor people not been restored?

22. Amos 8:4, 7 
Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land ... The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:  Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

Government regulations on helping the poor (7 passages):

23. Exodus 23:10-11
For six years you shall sow your land and gather in its yield; but the seventh year you shall let it rest and lie fallow, so that they poor of your people may eat; and what they leave the wild animals may eat.  You shall do the same with your vineyard, and with your olive orchard. 

24. Leviticus 14:21 
But if he is poor and cannot afford so much, he shall take one male lamb for a guilt offering to be elevated, to make atonement on his behalf, and one-tenth of an ephah of choice flour mixed with oil for a grain offering and a log of oil

25. Leviticus 19:9-10 
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.

26. Leviticus 23:22 
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.

27. Leviticus 25:25 
If anyone of your kin falls into difficulty and sells a piece of property, then the next of kin shall redeem what the relative has sold.

28. Leviticus 25:35-36 
If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens.  Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you.

29. Leviticus 27:8 
If any cannot afford the equivalent, they shall be brought before the priest and the priest shall assess them; the priest shall assess them according to what each one making a vow can afford.

Fourteen passages that use "you," "those," "us," etc., that does not exclude government officials.  I include these because Proverbs 3:27 (below) orders everyone, including senators, representatives, governors and presidents, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it."

30. Deuteronomy 15:7-11 
If there is among you anyone in need, a member of your community in any of your towns within the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted toward your needy neighbor.  You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.  Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, “Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbor in your land.”

31. Deuteronomy 22:1-3 
You shall not watch your neighbor’s ox or sheep straying away and ignore them; you shall take them back to their owner.  If the owner does not reside near you or you do not know who the owner is, you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until the owner claims it; then you shall return it. You shall do the same with a neighbor’s donkey; you shall do the same with a neighbor’s garment; and you shall do the same with anything else that your neighbor loses and you find.  You may not withhold your help.

32. Deuteronomy 27:19 
"Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.”  All the people shall say, “Amen!"

33. Proverbs 3:27 
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

34. Proverbs 17:5 
Those who mock the poor insult their Maker.

35. Proverbs 21:13 
If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.

36. Proverbs 22:9 
Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor

37. Proverbs 29:7 
The righteous know the rights of the poor; the wicked have no such understanding.

38. Proverbs 31:8-9 
Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of the destitute.  Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.

39. Lamentations 4:3-4 
Even the jackals offer the breast and nurse their young, but my people has become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.  The tongue of the infant sticks to the roof of its mouth for thirst; the children beg for food, but no one gives them anything.

40. John 14:12 
[Jesus says] Truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.

41. James 1:27 
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this:  to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

42. James 2:14-16 
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works?  Can faith save you?  If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 

43. 1 John 3:17-18 
How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?  Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.

Condemnation of spiritual leaders who preach to oppress the poor (2 passages):

44. Micah 3:5-6 
Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray, who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat, but declare war against those who put nothing into their mouths.  Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without revelation.

45. Luke 20:46-47 
[Jesus says] “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers.  They will receive the greater condemnation.”