Matt Redman: Giving to the poor as an act of worship

Friend of Compassion, Matt Redman, has been telling us his sponsorship story, his Tale of Two. Matt is passionate about caring for the poor as an act of worship. We recently caught up with him to find out more:

“Justice and social justice are a huge part of worship. Justice is on God’s heart. It’s a huge way that we can display our devotion to Him.

I always say to people that if you’re engaging with the heart of God through worship, then presumably we won’t just get that heart for ourselves. We’ll get that heartbeat of God for other people.

I can’t remember the first time I heard about Compassion as it must have been a little while back, but I do remember a Bible verse from Proverbs that definitely set us off on our [sponsorship]  journey. It was this verse in Proverbs 19: ‘Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.’ 

tt with his sponsored child, Everton from Brazi

And I thought that was the craziest thing I ever heard as we all know that God is self-sufficient in everything. If there’s anyone who doesn’t need to be lent to, it’s Him! … But it’s making a strong statement. What an outrageous thought. The creator of everything – the maker and sustainer who holds all things together … when you give to the poor, that’s such a seismic thing to do, it’s like you’re lending to the Lord.”