Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this,
To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction,
and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:27
Jesus warned in Matthew 25 that many will come to Him in the last day
and will boast of all their wonderful works that they have done in His name.
Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to Me. v 45
Jesus has stated many times that we are to love those who are in front of us,
not just the lovely ones, but all humans, our enemies included,
those we do not consider worthy, the unlikeable people.
The Lord is not impressed with labels or worldly goods
or deeds that make people pat themselves on the back.
He wants us to reach out to the lost, to the suffering, to the hungry,
to the hurting, the same way He would if He were here:
Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand,
Come, ye blessed of My Father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
For I was an hungred, and ye gave Me meat:
I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink:
I was a stranger, and ye took Me in:
Naked, and ye clothed Me: I was sick, and ye visited Me:
I was in prison, and ye came unto Me.
Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying,
Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee?
or thirsty, and gave Thee drink?
When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in?
or naked, and clothed Thee?
Or when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them,
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me. vs 34-40
Jesus honored The Good Samaritan who helped the injured man
and had compassion on him and took care of him after he had beaten
and left on the road unable to care for himself
The other, more religious persons, passed him by and left him there on the road to die.
God cares about people.
Jesus asked the attorney who was inquiring
to Him about what he should do to inherit eternal life.
He asked Jesus, Who is my neighbor?
Jesus described the three men, two religious men,
who walked on by and ignored the injured man, and a Samaritan who helped him.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou,
was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise. Luke 10:36-37
This is an example of true religion.
Jesus does not want us to ignore the cries of the suffering:
Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor,
he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard. Proverbs 21:13
And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,)
and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow,
which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied;
that the Lord thy God may bless thee
in all the work of thine hand which thou doest. Deuteronomy 14:29
We also should listen closely to what God told Ezekiel as to why He judged Sodom
as He explained to Jerusalem His judgment on them:
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread,
and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters,
neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before Me:
therefore I took them away as I saw good. Ezekiel 16:49-50
Their flesh was full and they did not help the poor and needy.
Helping the needy is humility before God.
Satisfying our own flesh is not.
Thinking of them and treating them as we would treat Jesus?
That is above and beyond what we are able to do as humans.
That has to come from the spirit of God.
Let His Spirit pour through you.
Additional Scriptures:
The Good Samaritan
And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying,
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind;
and thy neighbour as thyself.
And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho,
and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him,
and departed, leaving him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him,
and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:
and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine,
and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence,
and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him;
and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou,
was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him.
Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10:25-37