Helping the need is a core tenant of Christianity. From Jesus to the apostles, to the church fathers and modern day. Churches, missions and foundation have dedicated countless hours and vast amounts of money to help the poor, those in need.

Helping the poor stems from our mandate, to steward the earth, to be fruitful and multiply. To give to the poor is to lend to their Maker, since the poor is made in his image. How can we have charity and compassion if we don't reach out to among us in their need? I believe we should always help the poor and I hope for as long as the Church is around, we will be helping the poor.

But helping the poor is the begging, not the end. If that is the main mark we're leaving on the world, I'm afraid we're in danger of missing the mark.

Meeting physical needs without addressing spiritual needs falls short, because humanity needs both. When tempted with bread in the desert, Jesus answered: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." Bread feeds for a day, but the body hungers. It needs more. That's why, more than bread is needed. Men and women need nourishing of the soul, and more than that, salvation. After all, in the same sentence of the Lord's prayer we have ask the Father for daily bread as well as forgiveness.

In today's world, helping the poor is noble but it's not enough. It's not enough at all. Today's world would see the body well fed while the soul is starving to death. Now that is a tragedy and if we're not wise, we'll be adding more madness to this vicious circle.

As the tides turn and the ideological climate becomes increasing anti-christian, helping the poor is ever more important to preserve the testimony of the church. It's also not enough to bare witness to the message of the church. The gospel needs to be spelled out. After all, they didn't kill Jesus because he was feeding the crowds. He healed the sick, helped the poor, hanged out with the outcast, but he also called people to repentance, to a right relationship with God. If we do the former but not the latter, how are we bearing witness to Christ's message?