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Should we only aid those who ask for economic help, or should we offer it?
Should
we only aid those who ask for economic help, or should we offer it?
Answer: Pursue others.
“We love because he
first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19
Give the king your justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
– Psalm 72:1
How much should we give?
How
much should we give?
Answer: Extravagantly
“… remember the words of the Lord
Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to
receive.’” – Acts 20:35b
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might
become rich. -- 2 Corinthians 8:9
The scripture states, “Do not lay up
for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” There is a better
treasure to pursue than the things that fade away. And we have been given this
treasure in Christ.
How much were we given by God? God
gave us who were poor, His Son. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that
whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God
was lavish and open handed with us. We ought to have the same attitude toward
others. God is passionate about the righteous caring for others and being open
handed. This passion is Gospel driven. The Gospel compels us lay down our lives
and to love others. This is not a financial question, but a heart question. How
much of ourselves will we give (finances only being an aspect of this)? As the
Gospel is understood we will find joy and delight in helping others and giving
of ourselves. We will find it grand to love and blessed to give.
Deuteronomy 16:17 states, “Every man
shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that
he has given you”. In the Gospel, the blessings God has given us are great and
extravagant. So the answer is we should give extravagantly.
Should we give out handouts?
Should
we give out handouts?
Answer: It Depends. Is your response Gospel driven?
Are you engaging the person? Are you
loving the person? Is the handout for the person? Or is it a quick fix that is
not for the person but instead is given to appease a guilty conscience? Is it
in communicating the Gospel?
A handout can be harmful, if not
partnered with the Gospel. Within the idea of justice is the idea of doing no
harm. And as we meet those who are in need, we don’t want to do them harm.
But to answer this question, we have
to think beyond the question, “Should we give out handouts?” If you are giving
a handout simply because it is an easy way out of a situation or because it
swages your guilt or it enables you to not have to engage the person, whether
or not it is harmful, the motive is wrong and dangerous. If this is your
motive, you are not partnering with the Gospel. And most of us have done this.
The proper question is, “How in this
moment of time and situation do I engage this person with the Gospel, which
will bring about justice and promote their good? How do can I ambassador of
Christ and call them to the Gospel, in this moment?” Sometimes that is not
giving a handout and at times it will be giving a handout. But always it will
be about presenting Christ. One of the reasons this question is hard is because
it cuts us to the heart. It is not the lack of handouts or the plenty of
handouts that are the problem. One of the reasons so many remain in
these conditions, is because people don’t truly engage them and become a part
of their lives. It is the fact that we are not engaging people on a personal
level with the Gospel that is the problem. Yes, sometimes giving out a handout
can be harmful, but that should challenge us to be more engaging, more loving,
and to preach the Gospel more, for this can overcome, even a handout given out
with false motives.
So the question will be, “Yes and
amen, I agree with all this and I want to engage more, but what about those
times when the interaction is brief?” The answer is the same - engage them with
the Gospel in that moment as best as you can. One time it may be best to give a
handout and another it might be devastating. Pray and let God walk with you and
teach you and help you to discern. You will make mistakes, both ways, but don’t
harden your heart and don’t stop loving. Keep pursuing to learn how to love in
these situations. Do not be afraid. Make a decision as best as you can, and
trust that God loves you and will use whatever you do (that is part of the
Gospel, too), even when you make mistakes. And talk with those in the
“household of faith”. Much of these practical situations and scenarios will be
learned as we walk together in our community to meet the specific needs that
are around us.
How do we give without harming someone? Or contributing to poverty?
How
do we give without harming someone? Or contributing to poverty?
Answer:
Engage the person and give the Gospel.
God has called us to engage all mankind with the Gospel of Christ. How we decide to engage a person should be ruled by the Gospel. The Gospel will address the underlying issues that cause poverty, whether it is sin or just circumstances. And, yes, even the righteous can fall into poverty. Either case the Gospel is ultimate in our interactions with all men. If the Gospel is ultimate in our engagement with people, we will be able to give and love extravagantly, without harm.
How do we respond when we are ripped off, taken advantage of, or mistreated?
How
do we respond when we are ripped off, taken advantage of, or mistreated?
Answer: We love and preach the Gospel.
– Matthew 6:27-36
-- Luke 6:32-36
We were enemies of God. We took advantage of Him. We deserved His wrath. And if we are honest with ourselves, we still take advantage of God and are unworthy of His love. And yet, in Christ, we are extravagantly forgiven and loved. If this is the case, how ought we to love those who have wronged us. The scripture is very clear, that because we are forgiven, we too ought to forgive others who wrong us. I know if were in the other person’s shoes, I would want someone to present the Gospel to me and to continue to love me despite the wrong I have done. The worst of men can come to the loving arms of Christ and He will accept them. What they have done to us is so little compared to their need for the Gospel. And it is so little compared to what we have been forgiven of. This is a strength and a joy of the Gospel, we love and strive and plead with men on behalf of Christ.
The Bible warns us not to take this as weakness, for God will not let the guilty go unpunished. The scripture warns us that vengeance is the Lord’s, and not ours to take. But this compels us all the more to preach the Gospel. “Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. . . . Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
And so instead of developing a hard and calloused heart toward the “sinner”, “the stranger”, and yes, our “enemy”, we love and we love strongly and we don’t stop loving.
Should we help strangers and travelers, or persons whose sincerity we cannot judge?
Should
we help strangers and travelers, or persons whose sincerity we cannot judge?
Answer: Yes, we should help the stranger and sojourner.
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for
thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” – Hebrews 13:2
Leviticus 19:34 states, “You shall
treat the stranger who sojourns with you as
the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Luke 10: 25-37 tells of the Samaritan
who helped a stranger and took it upon his self to care for all his needs till
he got well. In Matthew 5, Jesus states, “Come, you who are
blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world. 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, I was naked and you clothed me, I
was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.” God has
called us to be loving, caring, and hospitable to all men including the
stranger, whom we do not know.
Should we give aid to people who brought their poverty on themselves or by their own sin or laziness?
Should
we give aid to people who brought their poverty on themselves
by their own
sin or laziness?
Answer: Yes, we should give aid to those who don’t deserve
it.
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ
died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though
perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love
for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since,
therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved
by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled
to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we
be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord
Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” –
Romans 5:6-11
Shouldn't the Church help only needy Christians?
Shouldn't
the Church help only needy Christians?
Answer: No, we are to love others and give freely.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season
we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do
good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith”.
--
Galatians 6:9,10
Galatians
summarizes the answer to this question and echoes what is said throughout the
scriptures – “let us do good to everyone”. It is clear in this passage that the
“everyone” includes those outside the church. In Deuteronomy, God calls us to
love the stranger – “Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in
the land of Egypt.” And in the parable of the Good Samaritan the “neighbor” was
someone the Samaritan never met. The scripture teaches us we are responsible
for our “neighbor”, the “stranger”, and even our “enemy” (Matthew 5:43-48). Our
“neighbor” is anyone God has placed in our lives that we can serve.
The scripture warns us not to turn a
blind eye to suffering around us (whether near or far) – “Whoever
closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be
answered.” (Proverbs 21:13) “Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he
who hides his eyes will get many a curse.” (Proverbs 28:27). God calls those in
His Kingdom to have open hands to those who are in need - “For
the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying,
‘You will freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your
land.’” (Deuteronomy 15:1) We are to be extravagantly giving and hospitable,
just as God extravagantly gave us all things richly in Jesus Christ.
Galatians
summarizes another aspect of this question – “especially to those who are of
the household of faith”. Paul states in 1 Timothy 5 “But if anyone does not provide
for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied
the faith and is worse than an unbeliever”. Paul is not writing here about the
American nuclear family, but the extended family. In Israel there was the idea
of the kinsman redeemer (which is a foreshadow of Christ). Basically, families
looked after one another and if a close or an extended family member fell into
poverty, the family helped them to get on their feet again. Paul is saying here
that this is an essential attitude to the Christian. Paul in talking about
widows states that they should be first taken care of by the family, and then;
if needed by the church. Galatians 6 extends the responsibility of care beyond
the biological family to those “who are of the household of faith”. As a body
we are to take care of the needs of those in the church. We are not to consider
ourselves above another, but are to care for the needs within the church as if
they are our own.
The
scripture challenges us to love and to genuinely care about the needs of
others. Whether it is our own biological families, the household of faith, or a
neighbor, or the stranger, or an enemy, we are called to love them and to love
well and to love extravagantly. Our attitude should be as Christ who on this
earth continually gave and then gave all He had on the cross. Paul writes us
all,
Jesus said, “And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.’” (Matthew
22:37-40)
Part 8: Practical
Practical
Questions:
Where do we learn how to minister to the poor and destitute in a
practical way?
Reading:
Now the question
is, “How do I live this out in a practical way?” We discover the answer to this
question together as a body of Christ. Christ said that the world will know
that we are His by how we love one another. We live out the truths of scripture
together. We question and we listen and we share what God has taught us. We
encourage and challenge each other to keep pressing into the Gospel and God’s
Word. And we seek God together. And we
have a God, who is walking along side us, helping us to be the church. More
than helping, He leads the church. And He will lead us into practical ways to
serve the poor and downtrodden.
Scripture reading:
2 Timothy 3:16,17
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for
reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the
man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Questions:
What
are some practical ways you can apply these lessons to your own life?
How
can you encourage these lessons in others?
How
does your life need to change to live these principles?
Who are some people in your daily life that you can minister
too? In your everyday life is God providing opportunities to minister to the
poor?
What is available in your neighborhood? What opportunities are there?
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