People are low income for many reasons on one hand things like bad health, lack of valuable talent for earning money etc. and many other's but also for sloth and criminality (crime usually does not pay very well), inability to work with others etc.
I see dichotomy when I consider the contrast between the story of the good Samaritan, were the man who is poor, is only temporarily poor because he was robbed and hero really helps in a bog way in contrast to the verse below which to me implies a chronic problem but that we are called to continually tend to.
Matt 26:11 The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.
That is why it seems like amazing grace to me that Jesus says:
Luke 7:20 Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
God has a grace for you, it seems, even if most of you poverty is self inflicted.
I like to link to this to make a point that if you take the group of people who are poor for religious reasons they do not produce children whose average behavior is not similar to the average behavior of other poor people, who often bring poverty upon themselves through things like crime and pride, nevertheless it seems clear to me that we should help them and long term.
All the more amazing Gods grace.
One might point to:
2 Thess 3:10 KJV: For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
So if a healthy man refuses to do any work he should not eat, nevertheless I think we are to help the poor even when self inflicted. Maybe in the case men we should provide work that the can an will do.
There are the deserving poor and the not so deserving poor, help them both.
Grace, grace, grace.
Links:
Why Do the Poor Commit More Crime?
Household Poverty and Nonfatal Violent Victimization, 2008-2012
