None of the churches that I have been a member of have had a specific program that feeds the homeless. I would feed some homeless people (at least, no program that I was aware of).
There have been times where I have told the homeless person, "No." I am reminded of a very, very fat homeless lady-- I did not give her any more food.
If my family is hungry, I will feed them. But generally, my fams all have their common sense and are able to take care of themselves. If one became a substance abuser or gambler or just plain irresponsible, I would still fed them, but try really hard to help them to change their lives.
If after my efforts, they still refuse to change, I'd probably not help them, unless they were at the point of death or some other extreme situation.
I would not give to foreign missions while neglecting my family.
Everyone who is able to work and/or find work should do so in order to eat, pay bills, by gas, etc.
Good post.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
I do believe we should be good stewards in the way we offer help to others, but when we are presented with opportunities to be generous, and we have the means to do so, we should.
We shouldn't attach strings to our giving, either.
Luke 14:13-14 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:...And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Generosity and charity are key elements to practical Christianity. When you're feeling a bit stingy, it's good to remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed "just" for sexual immorality.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy....And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."
It's ALSO important to make sure we aren't so busy following certain political factions that we forget those parties are not necessarily based on Christian values, no matter how "conservative" they are. I tire of the "I'm not my brother's keeper" rhetoric, even though I understand it from a logical (albeit cynical) standpoint. Christians ARE their brothers' keepers.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
I do believe we should be good stewards in the way we offer help to others, but when we are presented with opportunities to be generous, and we have the means to do so, we should.
We shouldn't attach strings to our giving, either.
Luke 14:13-14 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:...And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Generosity and charity are key elements to practical Christianity. When you're feeling a bit stingy, it's good to remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed "just" for sexual immorality.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy....And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."
It's ALSO important to make sure we aren't so busy following certain political factions that we forget those parties are not necessarily based on Christian values, no matter how "conservative" they are. I tire of the "I'm not my brother's keeper" rhetoric, even though I understand it from a logical (albeit cynical) standpoint. Christians ARE their brothers' keepers.
You are on a roll Miss B. Seems as if you have had a change in attitude. I like it.
I find it hard to choose between the poll options, however.
I do believe everyone who is able to work should work.
There are hard seasons that come to our lives, and some times we need a bit of a helping hand. Our family, and our church, actively give to those in need in a variety of ways. School supplies, groceries, Christmas presents, light bills, water bills and so on.
But we never, ever, ever give cash.
Recently we have ramped up our focus on missions that benefit us none. By that, I mean that we are engaging in helping ministries expecting absolutely nothing in return.
Shoes to the shoeless.
Money to missionaries who will probably never preach in our church.
Isa 1:16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; Isa 1:17Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Isa 1:19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: Isa 1:20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
__________________
Psa 119:165 (KJV) 165 Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
"Do not believe everthing you read on the internet" - Abe Lincoln
I do believe we should be good stewards in the way we offer help to others, but when we are presented with opportunities to be generous, and we have the means to do so, we should.
We shouldn't attach strings to our giving, either.
Luke 14:13-14 "But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:...And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
Generosity and charity are key elements to practical Christianity. When you're feeling a bit stingy, it's good to remember that Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed "just" for sexual immorality.
Ezekiel 16:49-50 "Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy....And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good."
It's ALSO important to make sure we aren't so busy following certain political factions that we forget those parties are not necessarily based on Christian values, no matter how "conservative" they are. I tire of the "I'm not my brother's keeper" rhetoric, even though I understand it from a logical (albeit cynical) standpoint. Christians ARE their brothers' keepers.
Miss B, I do make a point of treating the situations in our body differently from the many community situations I deal with. I even tell people up front who are asking for help with bills that we have plenty of hard-working single parents etc, in our church who if we would be helping first if we had the means.
__________________
There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Houston.
Either the United States will destroy ignorance, or ignorance will destroy the United States. – W.E.B. DuBois
As a therapist I had worked in community transitions for a few months and it is a very difficult population to work with. Many of the homeless are; dually diagnosed mentally ill, substance abusers, or criminal in thought and behaviors.
The Bible tells us the poor we have with us always...
The reason we always have the poor with us is related to transgenerational sins; molestation, living off the governmental systems, and being from a lower-socioeconomic group with few or limited options.
My reason for asking this question is this: Have you ever tired of helping family? You think, "I've helped them so much that they should be able to handle money better, " or they "should be old enough to know better", or they "don't really have a mental illness, they just need to get over it?"
Have you ever witnessed churches, or families who will help everyone else but they have limits to helping their family even though they are helpless for the same reasons as the people you give free meals to and groceries, or pay their utility bills.
What are your opinions and what do you know the Bible says?
Just thinking...
From my studies I believe we can conclude that the church helped widows and those in need among their number. But I'm not so sure if they attempted to help outsiders as much. Certainly outsiders would be welcomed into the fellowship and be helped...but I'm not sure if the church focused on helping those Romans merely wanting a hand out.
One thing I would like to bring up though...we often bring up that verse that says that we have the poor with us always...but we sometimes bring it up like it's a justification for inaction (not saying that you are). But here's the verse in it's entirety...
Mark 14:7
For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
I think Christ is saying that we do well to help the poor...but we must keep worship and faithfulness to him central to our life's focus. Often those involved in relieving the poor get consumed with the mission and loose focus.
I believe the church should work to help those in need...however...if there is a struggling church member or church family...the household of faith should come first.
Here's a personal experience I had with a church I used to attend. It was a very large church and held an outreach program in which they gave away prizes...including a car that was donated to the church for the giveaway. They brought in quite a crowd, all of them hoping to win the car no doubt. And yes, a woman who was visiting won the car. She attended for a couple weeks...and then vanished. But my heart couldn't help going out to a faithful woman who struggled to find transportation. She had a car, but it would break down and being on a fixed income she didn't have the money to repair it so it sits in her driveway. She has often ridden the bus to church in incliment weather, taking the time for transfers downtown. I wondered why couldn't they have given her the car? This woman was faithful. When I asked about it they said it was specifically donated for the outreach event. When I suggested that maybe we take up an offering to get her car fixed I was essentially told that they didn't want her to become "dependent" on the church. But she was faithful. On a fixed income she gave money she surely could have used. I know there are two sides to every story and maybe I'm not privy to all the details. But my heart was greived over it.
I think we should focus on those among us who struggle and help outsiders as we can. I also think it would be a good thing for a church to focus on supporting a local charity, shelter, soup kitchen, or children's hospital. A church cannot be all things to all people. I personally think it's best to focus on an area or charity and be known as being faithful with that cause than to try to do everything.
I find it hard to choose between the poll options, however.
I do believe everyone who is able to work should work.
There are hard seasons that come to our lives, and some times we need a bit of a helping hand. Our family, and our church, actively give to those in need in a variety of ways. School supplies, groceries, Christmas presents, light bills, water bills and so on.
But we never, ever, ever give cash.
I totally agree.
__________________
"God, send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. And sever any tie in my heart except the tie that binds my heart to Yours."
--David Livingstone
"To see no being, not God’s or any, but you also go thither,
To see no possession but you may possess it—enjoying all without labor or purchase—
abstracting the feast, yet not abstracting one particle of it;…."
--Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, Song of the Open Road
From my studies I believe we can conclude that the church helped widows and those in need among their number. But I'm not so sure if they attempted to help outsiders as much. Certainly outsiders would be welcomed into the fellowship and be helped...but I'm not sure if the church focused on helping those Romans merely wanting a hand out.
One thing I would like to bring up though...we often bring up that verse that says that we have the poor with us always...but we sometimes bring it up like it's a justification for inaction (not saying that you are). But here's the verse in it's entirety...
Mark 14:7
For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always.
I think Christ is saying that we do well to help the poor...but we must keep worship and faithfulness to him central to our life's focus. Often those involved in relieving the poor get consumed with the mission and loose focus.
I believe the church should work to help those in need...however...if there is a struggling church member or church family...the household of faith should come first.
Here's a personal experience I had with a church I used to attend. It was a very large church and held an outreach program in which they gave away prizes...including a car that was donated to the church for the giveaway. They brought in quite a crowd, all of them hoping to win the car no doubt. And yes, a woman who was visiting won the car. She attended for a couple weeks...and then vanished. But my heart couldn't help going out to a faithful woman who struggled to find transportation. She had a car, but it would break down and being on a fixed income she didn't have the money to repair it so it sits in her driveway. She has often ridden the bus to church in incliment weather, taking the time for transfers downtown. I wondered why couldn't they have given her the car? This woman was faithful. When I asked about it they said it was specifically donated for the outreach event. When I suggested that maybe we take up an offering to get her car fixed I was essentially told that they didn't want her to become "dependent" on the church. But she was faithful. On a fixed income she gave money she surely could have used. I know there are two sides to every story and maybe I'm not privy to all the details. But my heart was greived over it.
I think we should focus on those among us who struggle and help outsiders as we can. I also think it would be a good thing for a church to focus on supporting a local charity, shelter, soup kitchen, or children's hospital. A church cannot be all things to all people. I personally think it's best to focus on an area or charity and be known as being faithful with that cause than to try to do everything.
But that's just me. I'm rambling.
God bless.
Save up some money, go get the lady a dependable old clunker, and give it to her. You would be surprised at how many good running ugly cars you can buy these days for $500. Trust me. I've owned several of them myself over the past several years! I've slowed down on getting rid of them so fast, but I used to buy a different car every few months, just for the fun of it. Right now I have a GMC van and a Chevy Celebrity, along with a Neon. I gave $600 for the Celebrity and $700 for the van. They both run great. The heat works in both of them and the radios work. The a/c doesn't work in them, but 60mph and a couple of rolled down windows and y'ad never know the difference. The Neon is a good car too, but I gave more for it than the other two.
Re: Do you believe in feeding the homeless?
I've slowed down on getting rid of them so fast, but I used to buy a different car every few months, just for the fun of it. Right now I have a GMC van and a Chevy Celebrity, along with a Neon. I gave $600 for the Celebrity and $700 for the van. They both run great. The heat works in both of them and the radios work. The a/c doesn't work in them, but 60mph and a couple of rolled down windows and y'ad never know the difference. The Neon is a good car too, but I gave more for it than the other two.
Linear Mode
