Deuteronomy 15:7

Deuteronomy 15:7 says, If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thine heart, nor shut thine hand from thy poor brother:  Moses said if there was a poor man who was Israelite with the land that God had given them that the other people of Israel were not to harden their hearts against him.  We also should never harden our hearts against our fellow Christians if God has richly blessed us.  Verse eight adds, But thou shalt open thine hand wide unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need, in that which he wanteth.  Moses said they should open their hand and loan him what he needed. They were not to just open their heart, or empathize with him, but were to open their hand and actually do something to physically or materially help him.  We today as followers of Christ are to do the same.  Verse nine continues, Beware that there be not a thought in thy wicked heart, saying, The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand; and thine eye be evil against thy poor brother, and thou givest him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin unto thee.  Moses warned them against thinking that the seventh year, the year of release, was near and allowing this to keep them from helping the person.  We today should never allow whether a person, especially a fellow Christian, will be able to repay us to keep us from helping them.  God has told us that we can never out give Him, so we need to live as though we believe it.  Verse ten states, Thou shalt surely give him, and thine heart shall not be grieved when thou givest unto him: because that for this thing the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto.  Moses said no matter how close it was to the year of release that their heart should not be grieved because they were loaning the man something that he would never have to repay, because God would bless all that they did because of it.  We may miss the blessings of God today because we refuse to help those in need if we figure that they can never repay us.  Verse eleven adds, For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.  Moses said that the poor would never cease to exist in the land of Israel, and those who had the ability to help them should never cease to do so.  We might think that since they were all Israelites that God would bless them all materially the same, but this was not the case, just as it isn't today.  As followers of Christ, we should see everything that we have as a blessing from God, not something that we somehow deserve more than other Christians.