the very greatest need of all \u2013 instruction in how to serve God and keep His commandments.<\/em>\u00a0(Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)\n<\/blockquote>\nI would appreciate any insights you could offer. Blessings on you and the ministry God has given you!<\/p>\n\t
Answer:<\/h2>\n
I know the main points (the three philosophies) did not originate with me. I recall reading them in an article, I liked the central idea, and then I expanded it. According to my notes, I believe it was somewhere around 1997, but I’m not certain; it could have been earlier. I checked my files, but unfortunately, I can’t locate the original.<\/p>\n
Many people do not distinguish between individual and church responsibility. For example, in the care of widows Paul taught, “If any believing man or woman has widows, let them relieve them, and do not let the church be burdened, that it may relieve those who are really widows<\/em>” (I Timothy 5:16). Far too many people are encouraged to let some organizations handle problems instead of getting directly involved. In the parable of the good Samaritan, you see an individual making it his personal <\/em>responsibility to take care of an injured stranger. This is a story about each person’s duty, not a story about the church handling society’s needs.<\/p>\nFostering the care of people off on the church is a form of spiritual laziness. It avoids personal duty. The comments on the home page are there to get people to think about what the church is about as distinct from individual Christians. It is the fact that people confuse the two that makes it sound odd to many people’s ears.<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thanks. I appreciate your insights. Many people say, “The Church ought to help with a need I saw today.” In that case, they are the ones God showed the need to so He could use them to serve. Your insights have helped me think more clearly on this.<\/p>\n
Thank you and blessings!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I saw your web site while doing some study on a series of messages this weekend I am doing on the Parable of the Good Samaritan. I found your message on\u00a0The Three Philosophies of Life. I have heard from others that same approach to the parable. Do you know where the idea of \u201cThree…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[194],"class_list":["post-19226","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-benevolence"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19229,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/three-philosophies-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":19226,"position":0},"title":"Three Philosophies of Life","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 10:25-37 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Luke 10:25-37 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A lawyer, trying to test Jesus, asked him how to gain eternal life. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Jesus, as was his want, turned the question around and asked for his opinion first. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The response was to love God and to love his neighbor. To\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2004\/01\/GoodSamaritan.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":91194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-i-incorrectly-teach-the-parable-of-the-yeast\/","url_meta":{"origin":19226,"position":1},"title":"Did I incorrectly teach the parable of the yeast?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 12, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, brother Jeffrey. I led a study during our Mid-Week Service about the Parable of the Yeast. I made a disclaimer in my lesson that even though the majority of the usage of the word \"yeast\" in the Bible carries a negative connotation but the way Jesus used\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":24327,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-really-enjoyed-your-material-on-the-parable-of-the-unjust-steward\/","url_meta":{"origin":19226,"position":2},"title":"I really enjoyed your material on the Parable of the Unjust Steward","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In preparing for a home study, I was looking for a further explanation of the parable about the unjust steward\u00a0found in Luke 16. Really enjoyed reading your material on this. Answer: I'm glad you found the material useful.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53495,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son-solely-about-gods-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":19226,"position":3},"title":"Is the Parable of the Prodigal Son solely about God’s grace?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Could you please speak on the parable of the prodigal son? I had a family member who has been in Christ's church her whole life saying that repentance has nothing to do with this parable. She focuses solely on the father's loving compassion as being the whole point of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7632,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-mammon\/","url_meta":{"origin":19226,"position":4},"title":"What is mammon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is 'mammon'? In Luke 16, it is talking about the steward who wasted his master's goods. I don't fully understand this chapter. Please help. Also, I would like to say that I truly appreciate your website. I am a person who fell away from the church a very\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14879,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-point-of-the-prodigal-son\/","url_meta":{"origin":19226,"position":5},"title":"The Point of the Prodigal Son","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Matthew W. Bassford I know that one should not have high expectations of religious memes, but the one below grinds my gears. Every time I saw it, I rolled my eyes a little bit harder, until I knew that either I\u2019d have to write about it, or my eyes\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/prodigal-son-300x293.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19226"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19226\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19226"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}