How should Christians Care for the Poor?

In the U.S., over 15 million children live in poverty, and 64 million people live at less than the minimum wage, including 54% of African Americans (2015 statistics). A 2011 study from Columbia University estimated that 250,000 Americans died each year from causes linked to poverty. While only 4 million tons of food are needed to feed all Americans, 46 million tons of food are thrown away each year in the United States. There are an estimated 10 million homeless people in the US, but more than 12 million empty luxury housing units. Also, two-thirds of all minimum wage workers are women, and many of these are heads of households.

Old Testament texts frequently bid us to care for widows, orphans, and sojourners (Exodus 22:21-22, 23:6, 9; Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 10:18, 14:29, 15:9, 24:7, 14, 19, 26:12-13, 27:19; Psalms 68:5, 72:4, 146:9; Proverbs 15:25, 22:22; Job 29:12, 31:16; Isaiah 1:17, 23, 10:1-2, 58:10; Jeremiah 5:28, 7:6, 22:3, 16; Ezekiel 16:49, 22:7, 29; Amos 4:11; Zechariah 7:10, see also Mark 12:40; James 1:27). In the Gospels, 1 out of every 10 verses is about the poor, and in James, one verse in every five. We can't avoid reflecting on what Scripture says about the poor.

Jesus's words "the poor you will always have with you" (Matthew 26:11) are regularly used to suggest that ending poverty is impossible, that poverty is a result of moral failures, and that the poor themselves have no role in changing their situation. But  "the poor you will always have with you" is actually one of the strongest biblical mandates to end poverty.