Helping Your Fellow Man (An article by Christian Henry)

OCTOBER 3, 2023

 “And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee. Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.” (Leviticus 25:35-38)

What should we do when someone we know has fallen on hard times? How should we help this person? Before diving into how to treat this person, we must identify who is being discussed. While initially, Moses identifies this person as “thy brother,” he is speaking in a general sense. He is not talking about only helping those of the same blood as you or even those of the same nation as you, but instead of helping all people as you would family members or those of the same nature as men. This is much like when people are referred to as “neighbors” in scripture. The reference is not talking about literally the people who live near you, but treating all you encounter like this. Moses spells this out when he says,“though he be a stranger, or a sojourner,” implying that the instructions aren’t only for an actual relative but all people in general. All men are to be looked upon and treated as brethren, for we “…have all one father.” (Mal. 2:10)

Now that we know the subject of the command, we look at how we are commanded to act because, though this person is poor and distressed, he is still your brother and should be treated as such. By sympathy, we need to pity (whether that be monetarily, spiritually, or even health-wise) our poor brothers and sisters. By service, taking them in and doing for them, and by supply, giving them all you can according to what ails them.

Those you have aided should never be indebted to you (the usury of v.35). In other words, you should never help someone with the expectation of being paid back. Think of this person, again, as a member of your own family who is hurting and how you would never hold whatever “goodness” you’ve shown them over their heads. Like the Good Samaritan of the parable in Luke chapter 10, we should never help a person out of an expectation of some return, but because he was a man in a tough spot. There is no Biblical reason for the lender to share with the borrower for a profit. This command is given to relieve people experiencing poverty, to whom it is sometimes as great a charity to lend freely as it is to provide.

It is ultimately up to those who have received mercy to show mercy to others. If God can be gracious and show us undeserved mercy, we should not withhold that same grace from our fellow man.