# The Homeless and Luke 6:30



## RyledPiper (Jan 12, 2012)

This topic has been slightly covered here: www.puritanboard.com/f24/wwjd-begger-1096/ 

But I'm looking for more thoughtful answers than the stock, "he'll use it on drugs, he's just a scammer, etc."

Luke 6:30 says, "Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back." (ESV)

I encounter a homeless person asking for food nearly every day on my way to work. I was giving him a dollar for a few mornings, then he said, "Man, you don't have to keep on giving me dollars. You could bring me a sandwich or something to eat." Sometimes I bring him food and sometimes, when I'm running late, I'll just give him a dollar. (I've given him a few tracts as well. I'm planning to be more of a direct witness to him and share the Gospel explicitly with him.) His name is Keith, if you'd like to pray for him. He told me, "I'm just trying to get off these streets."

I have a passion to be the guy at the end of Matthew 25 who "did it to the least of these." 

The question is: am I biblically and morally obligated to give to everyone who asks me for money/food (and holds up a sign asking for money)? I usually see several homeless people every day in Philadelphia. I'm really looking for thoughtful, biblical answers, as I don't want to hear, "well, one a day is good enough." Or, "well, you can't help EVERYBODY." I realize that, but should I help everyone with whom I come in direct contact? Jesus said to give to everyone who begs from you, and please don't bring up Peter and John, because silver and gold I do have. Thanks in advance.


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## J. Dean (Jan 12, 2012)

If a person asks me for money regarding food, my response is that I'll be happy to go with him/her and get a sandwich or food. You'll see very quickly whether or not this person is sincerely in need. 

I have a rule: I do not give money to people. I will give food, clothing, supplies, and will even go get a bus ticket for somebody. But I don't know the motive of that person, and the idea of that person taking the money and possibly using it on something like booze or drugs is enough for me to not give money out. 

Not trying to discourage you or anybody else from charitable works, but there are MANY people who simply make a living off begging because they want to, not because they have to. Michael Reagan (son of the Gipper) once talked about a man who did this and made nearly fifty thousand a year tax-free, and has possession of a rather nice house because of it. 

While this is not true of all people professing to be needy, it's something we need to be aware of, and it's not wrong to make sure that our charity is not being abused.


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## Poimen (Jan 12, 2012)

In light of Jesus' teaching that follows in vs. 31, ask yourself: what would you want someone to do for you if you were in this position? What would be the greatest form of love for you? (vs. 32) Would you just want a handout or a means to help you improve your life so that you can get off the street? Would you want someone to give you money if it meant that it will perpetuate your (possible) laziness and lack of contributing to the general welfare of your fellow man? In short are you teaching him/her "If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."? 2 Thessalonians 3:10 I suppose this can only be applied on a case to case basis, but hopefully it gives you some principles by which to work. 

For myself I never feel compelled to give solely because one begs (which, In my humble opinion, is different than merely asking as Jesus says in the text). I ask them: what do you need? Usually they don't want me to give them gas or food as they claim but rather money. In these situations I will not give them money because they are liars and are trying to rob me and my family of my means of support to perpetuate their lying and laziness. Besides if I give to everyone in the ultimate sense I would not be able to support my family at all which would make me worse than an unbeliever (1 Timothy 5:8). But if they really need help and I can provide it, I will give it to them. 

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Please also note that often the authority that God has placed over us in the representation of the police (Romans 13:1ff.) who know the streets, ask even strongly urge the population not to give money to panhandlers, beggars since it tends to perpetuate crime instead of solving it. 

I also think it is telling that the beggars of Jesus' day were truly in need; I don't ever recall a recognized beggar in scripture as being a person who was trying to rip someone off or avoid work.


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## rbcbob (Jan 12, 2012)

I have had numerous discussions with a man who visited our church for a number of months who stood in parking lots with his sign asking for money. He was an experienced "street/homeless person" and informed me that he and those like him called this practice "flying a kite". He said that the money would usually be spent for alcohol.


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## Pergamum (Jan 12, 2012)

Matthew 25 is not talking about all the homeless (except they be homeless for the sake of the Gospel):

Adam,

The passages referring to the "least of these" is not about any duty to give to every homeless person.




> 34Then 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:
> 
> 35For 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:
> 
> ...



As the Gospel began to go out, one tangible way to support it was to practice hospitality towards those itinerant evangelists and servants who go out to preach. When I receive a poor, local evangelist in my home and treat him, then I am privileged to be able to fulfil Matthew 25 in a way that I am not able to fulfill by giving to random homeless people.

Seven Passages on Social Justice (4) – Kevin DeYoung



> Matthew 25:31-46.
> 
> 
> “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
> ...




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> Luke 6:30 says, "Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back." (ESV)



Jesus also said don't throw the things that are sacred to dogs, don't give pearls to swine, be as cunning as serpents. Also, we are to work and be industrious in order to give to others.

The principle of deep generosity does not mean an obligation to give without questioning. If a person is not availing themselves of the social services available or is not making life changes to take them out of the path of poverty (or at least trying) then your giving is not an act of helpful love. And in a world of need, and of limited resources, your main reason for giving shouldn't be that this particular homeless person is on your path to work. 

I think reducing Jesus' words to a blanket statement of, "If someone asks for your stuff, give it to them" is unhelpful.

Note: I am not saying "Don't be generous" but I am saying that you are not obligated to repeatedly give to this particular person without further investigation and questioning. Your money, time and attention might be better served elsewhere.

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Adam, 

You further wrote:



> The question is: am I biblically and morally obligated to give to everyone who asks me for money/food (and holds up a sign asking for money)? I usually see several homeless people every day in Philadelphia. I'm really looking for thoughtful, biblical answers, as I don't want to hear, "well, one a day is good enough." Or, "well, you can't help EVERYBODY." I realize that, but should I help everyone with whom I come in direct contact? Jesus said to give to everyone who begs from you, and please don't bring up Peter and John, because silver and gold I do have. Thanks in advance.




I am living in a very poor area. I could give all my money away today and still not make a dent in the social problems here. In fact, I would be hurting people long-term.

My principles for giving are: (1) If a person is in danger of death or loss of life or limb or eyesight, we help no matter who it is or what the cost, (2) then, in cases that are not emergencies, we strive to channel our giving to strategic evangelistic efforts and we screen our giving in order to support only faithful evangelists. Sometimes we have given unwisely and it has caused much grief when others who were more faithful had a need and we were not able to bless in the full measure that we otherwise could have had we not been suckered by the loafers. (3) I try to make sure my giving is not a hand-out but a hand-up, and those donations which act as "seed money" or "investment" into sustinable industries and micro-businesses take priority. We have bought baby goats on the condition that profits would buy more goats and multiply the efforts. We invest in things that further help one community better hunt crocodiles, and they use the croc profits to fund bible translation. In this sort of giving we ought to distinguish between "relief" and "development" - with our long-term goal being development of sustainable local industries and resources so that your giving may be diverted elsewhere.

Here is a blog article I wrote: Missions - a Sovereign Grace Perspective: Generosity and Dependency in Missions



> Many mission fields are very poor. Many missionaries come from very rich nations.
> 
> Even if many missionaries live below an "average" economic baseline when compared to their own countrymen, we must realize that the average "poor" missionary from America is still often a "rich" man overseas.
> 
> ...


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## jwithnell (Jan 12, 2012)

Randy Alcorn's Money Possessions and Eternity is very thought-provoking on these issues. I'm a little nervous about rolling down my car window when folks are working an intersection, but I do support a local food bank and a, Christian program that provides both temporary housing and also helps people get back to work. That someone is asking for food tells me there's a genuine need. Perhaps you could keep some packaged food in your briefcase/backpack whatever so you can give this kind of help directly?


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## Weston Stoler (Jan 12, 2012)

Most of the things here I agree with, however if someone asks you for food and you have money to buy that food I don't see a reason why any christian should say no. I agree with the one brother who goes with the man to buy the food, if the man then declines then you know that they really didn't want that. Be as harmless as a dove and as wise as a serpent.


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## RyledPiper (Jan 12, 2012)

Excellent advice, all. I have been convicted of late by both James and the sermon on the mount. As a former PK, it's easy to coast through your Christian walk thinking that your good thoughts or intentions about good works are evidence of true spiritual conversion. I want to be a doer and not a hearer only. This post was not out of a feeling of needing to do good works to earn something from God, but rather out of a sincere desire to honor Him with my actions. I pray that God will give me discernment when living these things out on a daily basis. 

Also, as I have been following the PB for quite some time, I feel honored that Pergy commented on my first post. I have appreciated your fine work, brother. Kevin DeYoung's post went straight to FB.


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## Pergamum (Jan 13, 2012)

Weston Stoler said:


> Most of the things here I agree with, however if someone asks you for food and you have money to buy that food I don't see a reason why any christian should say no. I agree with the one brother who goes with the man to buy the food, if the man then declines then you know that they really didn't want that. Be as harmless as a dove and as wise as a serpent.






> if someone asks you for food and you have money to buy that food I don't see a reason why any christian should say no.



Weston, 

I actually believe that you are doing wrong if you help someone in their sins. This includes the sin of "feeding" the lazy's sense of entitlement as well.

Adam,

Instead of giving him a mere dollar a day, if you are really burdened to do something, you should set aside time to truly get to know this guy so that you can better assess what his needs are. If he is continually indulging in sin and refusing help, you will have a good reason to cut him off without any feelings of guilt. If you assess that he truly wants off the streets and is willing to make drastic life changes to do so, giving him a dollar a day is not going to do much for him, invest much more and clean him up and help him actually get off the streets or else make sure you refer him to an organization that will do this (and there are many services that will do this....but with steps of accountability in place).

If you cross paths with him weekly and if your conscience is stirred, I believe this is a call to do much more than merely change the type of pittance that you give him. The question of "a dollar or a sandwich?" is not the right question. Investigate and cut him off totally, or else confirm that your help will actually help, and then really help him substantially. If he is a bum, you can cut him off if he refuses to change; if he is struggling, you can more deeply call him to change, if he is a good guy, then you can truly help him such that he is beyond the point of merely scraping by and can lay some more permanant plans for the future. 

What I am trying to say is that if this guy is regularly in your path, and you feel burdened about it, then there seems to be a need to NOT continue with your status quo practice but to investigate and make a better plan for the future (one way or the other) as to how you deal with this guy. The rich man never adequately investigated the state of the poor man outside of his gate in Luke 16, or else knew and ignored his needs. If this guy is on your path in a regular fashion, you could say that he is "outside your gates" in that sense and something more is called for.

Where I live, some of the locals oppose giving to the street children because there is a ring of thugs that control the turf and demand a certain cut. Small children earn more, and so the mother smears their faces with dirt and tries to make them look as pathetic as possible. My local friends tell me, "Don't feed the whole corrupt system...if you want to help they must be pulled out of that context or their families found." I still haven't found an adequate way to help here due to the failure of the whole system and even the invovlement of local police (as thugs). 


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Adam, 

Thank you for your kind words. I will pray for you. Me and my wife are regularly greatly troubled by both our failure to give and our anger at giving to things we find out wasn't the wisest. We have experienced much stress and a few tears over this subject personally.

I advocate radical generosity. But, I advocate radical AND focused, intentional generosity.


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## ChariotsofFire (Jan 13, 2012)

I wonder what type of begger Luke 6 is reffering to but considering 2 Thessalonians 3:10, it doesn't seem like it would be the type of begger that has the means to work 
10 For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.


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## RyledPiper (Jan 13, 2012)

Pergamum said:


> I advocate radical generosity. But, I advocate radical AND focused, intentional generosity.



It is becoming clear to me that this is what Jesus had in mind.


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## Peairtach (Jan 13, 2012)

*Adam*


> The question is: am I biblically and morally obligated to give to everyone who asks me for money/food (and holds up a sign asking for money)? I usually see several homeless people every day in Philadelphia.





> Or, "well, you can't help EVERYBODY." I realize that, but should I help everyone with whom I come in direct contact?



You can't always help people you're in direct contact with. What if you're running to catch a bus to go to your work? You've got your life to live and they've got theirs. The Lord understands that. 

Other than throwing a dollar at someone you can't help. You'll lose your job if your consistently late for work, then you and your family - if you have one - will be on the street.

The Lord knows if you're open-hearted and would do what you could to help if you could, and that when you can you do do good.

Avoiding transgressions of God's law is to be done at all times, whereas you can only do positive good works one at a time, and doing one good work e.g. carrying out your vocation, sometimes excludes other good works e.g. helping a hobo. 

The Lord knows our finite nature and does not condemn us for what we can't do.



> If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. (Deut 15:7, NIV)



It's about whether or not as a professing Christian you are a tight-fisted Scrooge towards the poor, or an open-hearted liberal person, without naiveity.

It's not about legalistically thinking you are doing God service by naively throwing dollar bills at alcoholics on the street, or neglecting your legitimate calling.


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