Is it wrong to ignore a beggar?

[namakele]

Currently here in Hawaii we are shamelessly dealing with our homeless, instead of seeing a problem, and trying to fix it, they see the homeless as being the problem, this kind of ignorance I can not reason with!

That's terrible.

 

[ÏsâbeŁ: אֱלִישֶׁבַע]

If you're walking down the street and someone asks for spare change, is it wrong to ignore them, from a Christian point of view? Jesus said something like if someone asks for your tunic give him your cloak as well. The thing is, since I became Christian I feel I can't ignore beggars, but I have barely any money myself, and a lot of the people who are begging, I don't even believe they're homeless.

…Sometimes a kind word and a listening ear (and heart) can go a long way – money isn’t everything. I also agree that it can sometimes be more helpful to offer to buy someone some food, or a drink or whatever instead of giving cash – but not always. When I haven’t got a lot of time or money I try at least pray for them!

Don’t forget Jesus was homeless and became unemployed.

Matthew 25:31-46 (NASB): “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me...’

Hebrews 13:2 (NIV): ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.’

Proverbs 14:31 (NIV): ‘Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.’

Also, regarding what you said “…and a lot of the people who are begging, I don't even believe they're homeless", and as you seemed to have alluded to Luke chapter 6, I just want to gently and lovingly highlight what it actually says just for food for thought:

Luke 6:27-36 (NASB): ‘“But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.’

 

[KWCrazy]

I think we should help the homeless. The best way to do this is NOT to toss them a few quarters so they remain homeless, but rather to not fund their continuing misery so they have to go to a shelter that can offer them real help. A warm meal and a safe place to sleep is preferable to a cheap bottle of wine and a cold sidewalk. By enabling those who live in the streets to remain there, you are condemning them to that existence; not a particularly charitable thing to do.

There are those who prey upon the good hearted. They rape or rob those offer rides when they appear to be stranded, they rob those who might reach for their wallets to offer up a few dollars or they look sad and forlorn all day because they can make more money on a street corner lying about being a veteran than they can by working. For this reason I support a Good Samaritan law which triples the sentence if the crime was committed against a person offering help.

When I see people on a corner raising money for a food kitchen I try to help. These are people you know are trying to do some good, not perpetuate a problem. Human beings do not belong prowling the streets like wild animals. Bring them in, clean them up, dry them out and help them find their way. Giving booze money to a derelict is like tossing an anchor to a drowning man.

 

[Crowns&Laurels]

Currently here in Hawaii we are shamelessly dealing with our homeless, instead of seeing a problem, and trying to fix it, they see the homeless as being the problem, this kind of ignorance I can not reason with!

I imagine, though I don't know much about Hawaii, that many of the people there see the island as their enclave and others are just written off as burdensome.

 

[MassiCo]

…Sometimes a kind word and a listening ear and heart can go a long way – money isn’t everything. When I haven’t got a lot of time or money I try at least pray for them!

Don’t forget Jesus was homeless and became unemployed.

Matthew 25:31-46 (NASB): “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me...’

Hebrews 13:2 (NIV): ‘Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.’

Proverbs 14:31 (NIV): ‘Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.’

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Good verses!

 

[thecolorsblend]

Here's an alternative way of asking for help.

 

[Laureate]

I imagine, though I don't know much about Hawaii, that many of the people there see the island as their enclave and others are just written off as burdensome.

On the button!

Both the richest and the poorest all on one rock.

 

[StormInside]

We live in a welfare nation, where all poor people qualify for debit cards to buy food. We live in a nation where all poor people get free medical care. We live in a nation were all disabled people qualify for monthly government checks. We live in a nation where "poor" women with children get more free money than most hardworking Americans are able to earn.

So, why are you giving that bum money.

I don't live in America, so I don't know who this "we" is. Government welfare can certainly go too far and discourage some people from working, but the bible tells us not to judge - we don't know whether somebody on the streets is just lazy or whether they are seriously mentally/physically ill and unable to work. As far as free medical care - rather that than let people die because they are too poor to afford medical help, surely? The weirdness of American thinking really baffles me - on the one hand you follow a religion that says things like "give to the one who begs from you, help the weak, feed those who cannot repay you, satisfy the desire of the afflicted," and on the other hand you want poor people to die from lack of medical care. It's such cognitive dissonance. Clearly as Christians we are obligated to help the poor, the question is just what's the right way to go about it, and it seems handing money to randoms on the street is not the right way.

 

[StormInside]

I think it is wrong to ignore them. They are people and deserve acknowledgment. Even if you can't/don't give them any money, you can say, 'no, sorry', or give them a referral to a shelter. If you don't want to give cash, but believe they really do need help, how about taking them to lunch/dinner? I've actually done this, and it's been appreciated. Can you imagine how dehumanizing it must feel to stand and be ignored most of the day? I would get so depressed.

Well the thing is I don't believe the ones in my town are homeless. The other day I was walking through the street when a clean, well-dressed man sitting on the street pitifully begged me for spare change. I gave him about £2.50, which was all of my money. He immediately got up, called over his friend from the other side of the road and they went into a shop and bought cigarettes, before walking up some steps which lead only to a housing estate, clearly going home to their house now they had their cigarettes. That was the last of my own money, I had barely any food myself.

 

[His Disciple]

I don't live in America, so I don't know who this "we" is. Government welfare can certainly go too far and discourage some people from working, but the bible tells us not to judge

The Bible tells us not to judge hypocritically. It's impossible for even the most righteous person not to judge hundreds of times per day, let alone the those not-so-righteous who judge hypocritically after they say we're not to judge. Anyway, this is not about judging. It's about the fact that most developed nations are welfare states and so the poor do not not need handouts to sustain a lifestyle in poverty.

The Bible tells us to help the poor, but there are right ways and wrong ways to do that. Feeding those who will not work is against the Bible which says those who will no work should go hungry. Duplicating a government service is an irresponsible use of one's resources. Paying someone to engage in panhandling causes panhandling. One who engages in such "charity" is only being self-righteous.

There are opportunities Christian can use his time and money to really help others. In developed nations, it's a person's time, not money, that is most needed to help the poor (visiting the sick and lonely, etc.). The place for giving money is where the government doesn't, such as and especially supporting your church.

 

[LaSorcia]

Well the thing is I don't believe the ones in my town are homeless. The other day I was walking through the street when a clean, well-dressed man sitting on the street pitifully begged me for spare change. I gave him about £2.50, which was all of my money. He immediately got up, called over his friend from the other side of the road and they went into a shop and bought cigarettes, before walking up some steps which lead only to a housing estate, clearly going home to their house now they had their cigarettes. That was the last of my own money, I had barely any food myself.

I haven't advocated giving everyone begging that everyone comes across some money. Like others have said, discernment is required. There is no hard and fast rule that says when to give or not. I have seen plenty of ppl to whom I have not given money. Some I've caught in in their own lies. Some were wearing brand new clothes more expensive that I was wearing.

I do strongly recommend not ignoring anyone, unless you feel your safety is at risk. Now maybe the OP didn't mean ignore literally; maybe they just meant to not give money, but I took it literally as many folks do walk by beggars as if they aren't there. Then again, many people do that to non-beggars, too!

 

[His Disciple]

Like others have said, discernment is required.

So, one day some came into my church asking for money. The pastor told me that a certain church member, an elder, was very good at discerning if someone is in need or just lying. The only thought in my head is how would anyone know someone is good at discerning something like this? Okay, you see clothes nicer than you own on the person asking for money (which isn't going to happen in church), how do you know they're not wearing their best so that you'll see they're trying their best, or for you to see that they're more like you? I think most of the time, someone is going to think they're good at discernment, whether they are or not.

For someone who is discerning, discern that you should never give money to a panhandler, for reasons already spilled out in this thread. For someone who is discerning, find another way to help the homeless.

 

[ÏsâbeŁ: אֱלִישֶׁבַע]

In my experience praying for Wisdom has been SO helpful! Sometimes “testing” the situation can also give some clues. I have sometimes offered to buy someone some food or a drink when asked for money, but in some cases, they have declined my offer. When this happens it seems to suggest to me that they may not be in imminent need after all (though it still can be tricky to know for sure). However, many have gratefully accepted these offers of mine when they have originally asked me for money – each case is different.

While I agree with a lot of what’s been said that it’s probably wiser to give what’s needed (i.e. food, water, clothing, shelter etc.) as opposed to straight cash I wouldn’t rule it out completely as there are always exceptions to the rule!

I would also like to add that Jesus helped all those who asked Him and sometimes only after would He say “go and sin no more.” I don’t recall Jesus ever saying this first when someone asked Him for help, only to then decline them ANY assistance!

I think it is also VERY difficult to know who cannot work vs. who “will not work”. Mental illness, for example, can be an extremely debilitating “invisible” illness – as can be addiction!

I came across this today so thought I would share this here in light of these discussions:

 

[His Disciple]

I came across this today so thought I would share this here in light of these discussions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Txv8Y4VUis

That's a very sweet video. What's with the luggage, did he just get evicted from somewhere?

Can you imagine how incredibly bored that homeless man must be, in addition to hungry, lonely, hopeless, dirty, and humiliated?

I believe homelessness should be illegal. Not per se, but living on public property, especially something like sleeping on a sidewalk and not being able to present evidence of a residence. I believe this both for the good of the homeless and for society. But, instead of jailing or fining offenders, if they don't have a place to stay, they should be placed in a halfway house.

This homeless man with a pizza is fed for a day. But, in a halfway house, he'd have at least a temporary home and all his needs met continually.

 

[StormInside]

I think that video stupid and annoying. Firstly, they are making out that the people who won't hand their lunch over are selfish. For all we know those people may have scrimped to buy their lunch and might not be able to afford another. If somebody came up to you and asked for the food off your plate would you give it to them? We also know that the man making the video and begging for food off people's plates isn't homeless, which proves the point about not handing over food/cash to beggars. Secondly if that man with his luggage is genuinely homeless did they ask his permission to film him? If not, how unethical, and if so, then the video is fake - he knew they were filming and what for and of course shared his food.

 

[ÏsâbeŁ: אֱלִישֶׁבַע]

To be honest, I can’t understand your opinion and it makes me sad to read that, though I know you are one of many who feel that way, but that doesn’t make it right. Your responce doesn’t come across as very compassionate. You have your name as “His Disciple”, and I’m not trying to sound offensive but can I ask if you think Jesus would really respond that way? I don’t remember Jesus wanting to make things illegal or even getting involved in the political system for that matter. I remember Jesus having compassion for people!

And I don’t think bored - I think painful, how incredible painful that must be for that man!

Many people have literally NO WHERE to go. It breaks my heart thinking of people shooing homeless people away, AND wanting it to be illegal, illegal for having nowhere to go, illegal because your life fell apart!? Who wakes up one morning and says when I grow up – I think I want to be homeless?! No one does. People end up homeless often from VERY complex and unfortunate events and choices. But once there it is not easy to undo without help. I would argue impossible to do without help. Furthermore, there aren’t enough of these kinds of facilities/organisations to accommodate the overwhelming number of homeless people. I know from personal experience.

The other thing to think about is even if there is an option to stay at somewhere like a halfway house, if you have experienced extreme violence and trauma (which an overwhelming number of homeless people have) you may be reluctant to go to a centre where people may or may not be intoxicated there, or be potentially abusive and/or violent such as a halfway house – as these places unfortunately can attract some of these kinds of individuals. In saying that, most homeless people are more likely to be the victim of abuse than to perpetrate it. Also, not everyone who is homeless has a substance abuse problem. But everyone has a unique story. You don’t know what someone has been through unless you ask and even then you can’t fully know. You don’t why they are where they are or what happened to them unless you ask. Please don’t just assume you know why they are homeless and treat them according to your assumptions. Please don’t assume that you know what’s best for them. You can ask if you want to know. You can ask God in Christ if you want to.

 

[Yeshuas_My_Freedom]

Currently here in Hawaii we are shamelessly dealing with our homeless, instead of seeing a problem, and trying to fix it, they see the homeless as being the problem, this kind of ignorance I can not reason with!

Would you provide examples of the shameless dealings that are going on in Hawaii in matters of the homeless?

 

[ÏsâbeŁ: אֱלִישֶׁבַע]

I think that video stupid and annoying. Firstly, they are making out that the people who won't hand their lunch over are selfish. For all we know those people may have scrimped to buy their lunch and might not be able to afford another. If somebody came up to you and asked for the food off your plate would you give it to them? We also know that the man making the video and begging for food off people's plates isn't homeless, which proves the point about not handing over food/cash to beggars. Secondly if that man with his luggage is genuinely homeless did they ask his permission to film him? If not, how unethical, and if so, then the video is fake - he knew they were filming and what for and of course shared his food.

Wow!
You are obviously very closed to this issue! Yes, I would give some of my food – why not?
That REALLY makes me sad!!! Especially that this is supposed to be a CHRISTIAN site! I’ll pray for you both. Breaks my heart - that’s all I can say!

 

[His Disciple]

I don’t remember Jesus wanting to make things illegal or even getting involved in the political system for that matter.

No one has a right to live on a public sidewalk. Where does he go to the bathroom? Who's going to want to shop at the store he's in front of, or near? He's a public nuisance and the only reason not to throw him in jail is compassion. But, where's the compassion in leaving him on the sidewalk?

I think a halfway house for the homeless is the most compassionate and reasonable response society has. If there's not enough rooms, we can build more. Drinking and violence isn't allowed at halfway houses.

 

[ÏsâbeŁ: אֱלִישֶׁבַע]

No one has a right to live on a public sidewalk. Where does he go to the bathroom? Who's going to want to shop at the store he's in front of, or near? He's a public nuisance and the only reason not to throw him in jail is compassion. But, where's the compassion in leaving him on the sidewalk?

I think a halfway house for the homeless is the most compassionate and reasonable response society has. If there's not enough rooms, we can build more. Drinking and violence isn't allowed at halfway houses.

You didn’t answer my question - you just gave me your opinion.
I find your responses extremely sad.