Proverbs 17:19 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
Proberbs 21:13 Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard.
Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Matt. 25: 37-40 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.
I also find these verses from the Book of Mormon moving: (Mosiah 4:16-19)
Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
Luke 3:11 He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise.
Matt. 25: 37-40 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.
I also find these verses from the Book of Mormon moving: (Mosiah 4:16-19)
Perhaps thou shalt say: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God. For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
So, recognizing that the scriptures insist that we should be charitable with our means and that we have an obligation towards our fellow men, and also recognizing that sometimes giving money may not be the best way to help, what should we do? What have you found to be helpful in deciding whether the most Christian thing is to give away your money or withhold it?
This is often a difficult situation. It's especially hard when I am unfamiliar with the local homeless shelters and help-programs. For example, in Denver, I know that there are a variety of helpful organizations that help the homeless resolve the problems that are keeping them on the streets, rather than allowing them to simply subsist on others' donations. The City has asked that instead of giving money directly to beggars, it is better to encourage them to get more lasting help. But in other cities, where I may not know what kind of help is available, it mostly boils down to how I feel about the person and situation.
ReplyDeleteI used to struggle with this quite a bit. Some friends from Seminary and I had this discussion over breakfast recently as well. It was really interesting to hear the variety of positions that people held.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that I've done, and some of my seminary guys have done, is to give food. In Seattle, there was a bridge near my church which was a hot spot for homeless individuals. My church had free coffee each Sunday morning so we would get a couple cups with some sugars and give that to people standing in the rain. We usually explained that we didn't have much money as college students and that we didn't function on cash--but would they like coffee to stay warm and a granola bar or two? We were very rarely refused. The couple of times that I've had an individual refuse to take food because they just want money, I've had to apologize to the person, explaining I on't usually have cash and I have nothing else to give them.
Another thing that I have found helpful is--like you mentioned--learning about the homeless populations around me. In Seattle, it can be very easy to pick out someone who isn't homeless at all, they're just panhandling because they can make extra cash. That isn't as easy in Denver. I think it can also be useful to get to know people who are often in areas that you frequent. I actually really enjoyed chatting with one of the men I took coffee too, and I still remember his name today and continue to pray for him. That's often just as big a blessing for them as money or food. I've had people downtown tell me "thank you for not ignoring me" when I make eye contact and tell them I have nothing to offer. These people are invisible, and that is even more damaging than lack of food and shelter. They're humans, and too often we forget that in our generalizations. Get to know people, listen to them, give them homemade cookies and a cup of ramen. When they are no longer "the other" they are harder to dismiss and easier to love.
just some thoughts.