Should we deny the poor.......

[OldWiseGuy]

.....their freedom to be poor? Millions have chosen to remain poor, sick, and perhaps drug-addicted. It seems to me that only by locking them up in a rehab center of some sort that we can deal with their problems. Should we do this, or allow them the life they have chosen?

 

[Go Braves]

How did Christ say we should treat the poor?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

How did Christ say we should treat the poor?

Good question.

 

[grasping the after wind]

How did Christ say we should treat the poor?

The same as anyone else.

Romans 2:11 Context

8But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11For there is no respect of persons with God. 12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

 

[A_Thinker]

.....their freedom to be poor? Millions have chosen to remain poor, sick, and perhaps drug-addicted. It seems to me that only by locking them up in a rehab center of some sort that we can deal with their problems. Should we do this, or allow them the life they have chosen?

But many do not CHOOSE to be poor. And FEW would CHOOSE to remain sick, if affordable treatment was available to them.

The drug-addicted can become a danger to the general society ... so it may be in society's best interest to help them with their issues as well.

As Jesus met persons who were suffering in this life, He at least offered them the opportunity to be helped up out of that situation ...

Luke 4

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

 

[John Bowen]

Lots of jobs were taken overseas that the less skilled used to do . So the mega corporations could make even more profits .When people are on welfare this causes them to have low self esteem so a lot turn to drugs to feel better. The people need to demand these mega corporations can't leave the country and the people who got them there and stop them from getting so big they squeeze out the small businesses that are back bone of the middle class.

 

[TheFriendlyAtheist]

Why do you think so many people made a choice to be poor, sick or drug-addicted? I have met a lot of poor people in my life and not one of them chose to be poor. If you live in the United States getting medical treatment can leave a person destitute. Maybe someone is refusing to go to the doctor simply because they can't afford it. And many people who are addicted to drugs were raised by drug addicted parents and never knew anything different. How can we blame people for being addicted to drugs if as children they were never provided with the education and tools necessary to be responsible adults.

There are plenty of ways of helping these people that don't require locking people up. Locking a person up should be a last resort only to prevent the person from harming themselves or others.

And I'll leave with a quote from Jesus.
Mark 14:7
"The poor you will always have with you..."

 

[bekkilyn]

And those of us who are not so poor may want to keep this little saying in mind: There but for the grace of God go I.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

But many do not CHOOSE to be poor. And FEW would CHOOSE to remain sick, if affordable treatment was available to them.

The drug-addicted can become a danger to the general society ... so it may be in society's best interest to help them with their issues as well.

As Jesus met persons who were suffering in this life, He at least offered them the opportunity to be helped up out of that situation ...

Luke 4

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Do you understand what Jesus was saying?

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Why do you think so many people made a choice to be poor, sick or drug-addicted?

The problem is that many have made the choice to remain poor, sick, or drug-addicted. The good news is that most poor don't remain poor. It is a rather small segment that is presented as a huge social problem. 'Poorness' statistics are a snapshot in time that is always changing. The numbers may remain constant but the names are always changing. That is why Jesus said the poor will always be with you. He didn't say the same people would remain poor all their lives.

 

[Southernscotty]

Love them and give them the truth, Jesus is that truth, and what they do with this truth is up to them. I give handups but not handouts.

 

[paul becke]

.....their freedom to be poor? Millions have chosen to remain poor, sick, and perhaps drug-addicted. It seems to me that only by locking them up in a rehab center of some sort that we can deal with their problems. Should we do this, or allow them the life they have chosen?

'Where your treasure is, there your heart is.'

It sounds to me as if you're the one who should have been locked up in a rehab centre - preferably one with an emphasis on correction, rather than punishment. Even fancying yourself for being a so-called, Alpha male indeed ! And wise into the bargain.

Well I've got news for you, old chap. the burden of scripture, of both the Old and the New Testaments - most strikingly of course, in the Virgin Mary's Magnificat - casts the poor man as the virtuous man, the true Israel, while the rich man is cast as, characteristically, the perpetrator of violence, fraud, deceitfulness, oppression and generalised wickedness. Generalisations of course, but even Christ had to use them to make sense of the world in all its variety.

After Christ's own expressed sympathy with the poor (among whom he was born and brought up) and that of the Apostles and the Evangelists in the Gospels, such quotes figure most prominently in the Psalms and the Prophets.

The measure you give will be the measure you receive. Never forget that. If you have played an unconscionable part in driving so many people out of their homes, many to live and die on the streets, in culverts and subways, whole families sometimes, and you presume to judge the destitute for seeking to anaethetize their brains with alcohol and not pull themselves up by their bootsraps, expect no mercy from the Almighty. You have His word for it that you face, shall we say, euphemistically, a somewhat torrid future.

What Bible do you read from ?

 

[paul becke]

Love them and give them the truth, Jesus is that truth, and what they do with this truth is up to them. I give handups but not handouts.

I give handouts but not handups, and tell them to make sure they spend it disreputably.

 

[Southernscotty]

I give handouts but not handups, and tell them to make sure they spend it disreputably.

That is a mistake. You are contributing to their addictions. I love them and give them the truth as I should

 

[OldWiseGuy]

What Bible do you read from ?

The Protestant version.

 

[Sabertooth]

The traveler on the road to Jericho suddenly found himself in poverty [Luke 10:25-37].

Jesus applauded the man who denied the poor...

...their freedom to be poor...

We should probably deny people their freedom to be robbed or shot, too, as we are able.

 

[paul becke]

Nuff said. Just kidding. Serious though the subject is

 

[paul becke]

The traveler on the road to Jericho suddenly found himself in poverty [Luke 10:25-37].

Jesus applauded the man who denied the poor...

We should probably deny people their freedom to be robbed or shot, too, as we are able.

LOL. Very good.

 

[Southernscotty]

I love to help others and especially those who are "really hurting" but I have been burned a few times.
If I show up with bags of groceries and the young man of the house is laying on the couch playing video games, Then we are having us a talk.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

I give handouts but not handups, and tell them to make sure they spend it disreputably.

True story. A drunk approached me once asking for a handout so he could eat. I took him to a nearby café and paid for a meal for him. He almost choked on it as he really wanted a drink. When we left I gave him a couple of bucks and told him to "have one on me".