{"id":594,"date":"2026-07-07T19:04:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T19:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/?p=594"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T15:37:27","slug":"the-poor-will-they-always-be-with-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/07\/the-poor-will-they-always-be-with-us\/","title":{"rendered":"The Poor\u201d \u2013 Will They Always Be With Us?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Have you ever considered yourself to be one of \u201cthe poor\u201d? Do you now or have you ever experienced periods of uncertainty, not knowing where your next meal was coming from? For many in our large cities including Toronto, this is their daily dilemma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The term, \u201cthe poor\u201d is often used to describe a certain group of people. But being poor is a relative thing – once your relatives find out that you are poor, they no longer have anything to do with you<\/em>. But seriously, those that are considered \u201cthe poor\u201d in the city of Toronto, would be quite rich in some other parts of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Toronto for example, the poverty line is drawn around $33,000. So, you are considered \u201cthe poor\u201d if your annual income is below that line. But in many parts of the world if that were your annual salary, you won\u2019t be considered poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes you hear people say, no matter what we do, there will always be poor people around us. And they would add, \u201cJesus said we will always have the poor with us.\u201d But what does that mean? And was that what Jesus said? We will examine exactly what Jesus said about \u2018the poor\u2019 and why he said it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend Dean O\u2019Connor (Souls for Christ Ministry) sees this first hand as he goes to the downtown streets of Toronto, at least three times per week to minister to the poor, the homeless, and the marginalized, providing sleeping bags, blankets, water and many of the other necessities that we take for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few days ago, Dean wrote in social media, \u201cI hit the streets and saw many in need! Gave out 7 sleeping bags several blankets, heavy tops, socks, a few coats many granola bars and Tim cards for meals! Quite a few asked for water and started drinking it right away! He said, thanks to \u2018Reapers in the Rain\u2019 \u2013 (A Charity that provides for the poor in downtown TO) for the clothes again this season! Thanks to all who pray and give; helping us to be Jesus to a city in need of His love!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a recent report 1<\/sup>, the number of \u2018working poor\u2019 in the Toronto Region increased by 42% just over a five-year period. Toronto\u2019s working poor live in a region with the highest cost of living in Canada and the second most expensive housing market in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This group accounted for more than 70,000 adults in the City of Toronto and more then 113,000 in the region overall. For many, full-time job earnings are not enough to escape poverty. \u201cAcross the Toronto Region, many people are working in jobs where they remain poor.  The people serving you at a food counter are often struggling to put food on their own table,\u201d said the report 1<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

December 18, 2023 \u2013 TORONTO<\/strong> \u2013 New research from The Salvation Army Canada finds Canadians are struggling to meet their basic needs with inflation, food affordability and housing security persisting as top issues. Single parents, caregivers and single-person households are facing the most pressure, demonstrating how these struggles are not felt equally by all Canadians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what can we do, as people of faith who are charged with the mandate to help our brothers and sisters in need? Quite commendable, several churches and faith groups in the recent past, became \u201cGood Samaritans\u201d and at their own expense, rescued hundreds of refugees, asylum seekers, and the poor from off the streets on Toronto. God bless you all!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this account in Mark 14, Jesus was invited to dinner at the home of a certain man. As he sat reclining at the table, a woman came in with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard \u2013 a class of aromatic essential oil. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, \u201cWhy this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year\u2019s wages and the money given to the poor.\u201d And they rebuked her harshly. But Jesus came to her defence.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLeave her alone,\u201d said Jesus. \u201cWhy are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you,<\/em> and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me\u201d (Mark 14:5-7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When people quote Jesus, they usually stop here. \u201c<\/sup><\/strong>The poor you will always have with you.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was not a prediction of doom or a statement of resignation on Jesus\u2019 part. If you read further, you will see His intent. \u201cand you can help them any time you want<\/em>.\u201d So, whenever you see \u201cthe poor,\u201d remember Jesus\u2019 statement, and you can help them any time you want<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These next two verses from the Book of Proverbs remind us that our labor of love to \u201cthe poor\u201d will not go unrewarded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the <\/em>Lord<\/em>, and he will reward them for what they have done<\/em> (Proverbs 19:17).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor<\/em> (Proverbs 22:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme of this Blog is this: Live generously and help those that are less fortunate and the Lord will greatly reward you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. John Stapleton, Brian Murphy, and Yue Xing wrote The<\/em><\/strong> \u201cWorking Poor\u201d in the Toronto Region<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever considered yourself to be one of \u201cthe poor\u201d? Do you now or have you ever experienced periods of uncertainty, not knowing where your next meal was coming from? For many in our large cities including Toronto, this is their daily dilemma. The term, \u201cthe poor\u201d is often used to describe a certain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":596,"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions\/596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alvinfrankauthor.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}