To Give Or Not To Give ?

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On Tuesday I met a man in the inner city of Minneapolis. He asked me for some money. I told him I won't give you any money but I will give you an address for a job. He said, "I'll go there tomorrow, but I need some money for something to eat tonight". I told him no. Now I am having some misgivings for what I did. Perhaps I should have given him some money. But then again maybe if I did that I would only be aiding him in some bad habit like alcoholism or drug abuse. I just don't know what to think. Jesus did say, "Give to him that asks you, and from him that would borrow of you turn not away" (Mt. 5:42).
 

tericl2

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If you look in the Epistles the rules on giving to others seem to revolve around our "brothers" in Christ.

But, maybe you could have taken him to get something to eat or brought back some food for him. i don't think we have to give money just because they ask for money. I think meeting the need would suffice. And who knows, if you had taken him to eat you could have shared the word with him.

If you feel you were wrong, though, repent and move on. Don't let it drag down your walk with Jesus. But in case the situation comes up again you should pray and reflect on it so you will know what to do.

Love in Christ
 
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Kristen

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This has happened to me many times. I always give something. I just feel it is the right thing to do as a christian. One time we just got done picking up cheeseburgers from McDonalds and we were at a red light. A man came up to us and needed money for food for him and his dog. We gave him the bag of cheeseburgers :) needless to say he was happy but the dog was happier! :)
 
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Waterhouse

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Once, a lady came into our church asking for money for petrol, or oil for her car. So me and the youth pastor drove with her to the nearest petrol station where we paid for her. In the same way, if someone ever asks me for money for food, I go with them and buy them food instead of giving them just money. Who knows what they would really spend it on?
 
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mistygail

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The girls and I have gotten food for people a few times. The first time we did it we had just been to Mcdonald's and had happy meals (it was beanie baby time) we were driving by another McDonald's and saw a guy who looked like he was starving to death. He wasn't asking for food money or anything but I pulled into McDonald's bought another Happy Meal, too kthe beanie baby out and gave him the meal! :) I think we both got what we wanted that day. :D :D :D

I really don't know what the right thing to do is...lately I just ignore them. I really don't want to give them money cause I don't know what they are going to do with it. Would much rather buy them a meal!
 
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Blessed-one

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that's a good thread.
i walk through this tunnel almost everyday to get to uni, and there're always people playing music, actually, several individuals, each playing in his or her own place (entrance, exit and middle of the tunnel)
it never really crossed my mind that i should give them any money, but after several wks or so i remembered how Jesus said u should help the poor, and if u rejected them, it's the same as rejecting Jesus himself.
and i began to doubt, but u can't give everytime u walk through the tunnel! i'll go broke very quickly since i don't have a job.
 
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The Bible says in Galatians 2:10 "...we should continue to remember the poor". Perhaps you have heard the stories of people who have put on the guise of being poor. They ask for money holding signs, "will work for food" and all the while they are not in the least bit interested in working just living off hand outs. These people are not poor! They are theives. They are stealing from the public who assume they are homeless, street people.
Of course the problem is trying to discern who are the phonies and who are the poor.
I really would like to get to the bottem of this. So that next time someone asks for a hand out I would ask the right questions and decide from that person's answers whether I am obeying a Biblical command by giving to a legitimate need or just helping this person to continue in deceiving the public.
 
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