Dear Sir,<\/p>\n
I live in a city where there are a lot of homeless people. I need to know what I as a Christian need to do to help them. I give money at my local grocery store that goes to a food bank for those in need, I also leave a care package at the bus stop where I catch the bus. Is there more I should be doing?<\/p>\n\t
“For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you do not always have Me<\/em>” (Mark 14:7).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There will always be poor people. The reasons are varied: some don’t want to work, others spend all they may make on drugs, alcohol, or gambling, and others are suffering from mental illness. Therefore, the first thing that we have to admit is that the problem isn’t going away nor is it generally solvable.<\/p>\n
What you are doing isn’t wrong, but I would like you to notice that it keeps you distant from the problem. Consider that we are to be lights in the world so that glory can go to God. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven<\/em>” (Matthew 5:16).<\/p>\n
My grandfather lived during the Great Depression. He would be approached by people asking for a small amount of money to get coffee. Grandpa suspected that most were just saving up the money they collected to buy alcohol, so he would point out a nearby diner and offer to buy them a meal while they talked. I believe he said only one or two people ever took him up on the offer.<\/p>\n
I try to do similar things. I help people I know are in trouble. I don’t generally hand out money that can be used for the wrong purposes, especially to people I don’t know. Instead, I look to get something that goes a bit beyond solving the immediate problem. Sure, I know I’ve been taken advantage of a few times despite my precautions, but I did get to talk to people about improving their lives and following after God to solve their problems.<\/p>\n
Helping people is about helping them see that God’s way can lead to solutions to their difficulties. But that means getting to know people and finding out what their true problems are.<\/p>\n\t
Response:<\/h2>\n
Thank you!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Dear Sir, I live in a city where there are a lot of homeless people. I need to know what I as a Christian need to do to help them. I give money at my local grocery store that goes to a food bank for those in need, I also leave a care package…<\/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":[194,676],"class_list":["post-43351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-benevolence","tag-poor"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":52572,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-benevolence-by-christians-limited-to-other-christians\/","url_meta":{"origin":43351,"position":0},"title":"Is benevolence by Christians limited to other Christians?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 10, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to know whether sharing or any act of benevolence by Christians should be limited to the body of Christ alone. Answer: There are two standards for benevolence work.\u00a0 One concerns what the church can do and the other concerns what individuals are expected to do. The easy\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":47034,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/an-eye-exam\/","url_meta":{"origin":43351,"position":1},"title":"An Eye Exam","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Luke 11:34-36 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is an old saying that bad things come in threes and to a lot of people this appears to be a true statement \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Life is filled with good and bad events \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But what happens is that when something bad happens, we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41435,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-poor-have-the-gospel-preached-to-them\/","url_meta":{"origin":43351,"position":2},"title":"The Poor Have the Gospel Preached to Them","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Andy Sochor The common perception by people - both within and outside of the religious world - is that churches are charitable organizations designed to help the poor. Denominational churches spend much time, energy, and money helping the poor. Those who are in need (or claim to be in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32337,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-a-christian-participate-in-a-community-organization-that-supports-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":43351,"position":3},"title":"Can a Christian participate in a community organization that supports sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There are many diversity and inclusion groups becoming more popular. They do a lot of good in the community. Can a Christian participate through work with this organization, such as community trash clean-up, knowing they support LGBTQ? Thanks. Answer: The question you need to ask yourself is whether your\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":23332,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-the-poor-be-helped-if-it-makes-our-life-harder\/","url_meta":{"origin":43351,"position":4},"title":"Should the poor be helped if it makes our life harder?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a penchant for helping the poor. But I came across an article titled \"Lifeboat Ethics: the Case Against Helping the Poor\" and it was really interesting. 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