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

God pursued us in love and patience and we ought to pursue others in love and patience. How patient and long-suffering are we really? Do we portray the patience and long-suffering God had for us with others? Do we get the deep truths of the Gospel that underlie the answer to this question? The scripture teaches that we were the foolish poor. We were not only foolishly poor, but we were enemies of God. Our mistakes, our own sin, and our own laziness are deeds that are deserving of Hell. Sin has brought us to the lowest state, and the only ones we have to blame are ourselves. It is out of those depths that God saved us. And how much did God give us in this underserving state. God loved us and sent His only begotten Son to die. God did not hold back because we were undeserving, but instead lavished upon us grace, mercy, and love, and placed on us the rich robe of Christ. We, too, should give of ourselves (and even our wealth) and love the “sinner”. What does this mean? It means we love the person. Sometimes this will mean giving though they don’t deserve it. Other times it will mean lovingly confronting an issue, for the Gospel calls men to the Kingdom of God, not to their own lives. But we will always be open handed in our love. We prefer an expression of the Gospel over the Law, for the Gospel has the power to change a man’s heart. And we refuse to look down on the foolish poor, for we, too, are the foolish poor and are in need of grace.