Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors. [Deuteronomy 15:10-11 (MSG)]
We’d purchased a gift card at a grocery store for someone in serious financial straits and started talking about her, wondering how she got so deep in debt. A lot of unwise decisions combined with the loss of employment and topped off by major health issues was the answer. We then reminded ourselves that our task is not to analyze the hows, whys, could haves and shouldn’t haves of her or anyone else’s life—our task is simply to lay some love on our neighbors.
I recalled a discussion we had in Bible study about this very thing. Someone asked about giving money to street people—wouldn’t they just use it for drugs or drink? Our pastor reminded us that we’re not to be the judges; that’s God’s job. We’re simply to be the conduits of God’s grace. He also suggested doing what he does—rather than offering money, he gives $5 McDonald’s gift cards to panhandlers. They’re not valuable enough to be traded for drugs and can only be used for food. Another person shared that she gives street people a baggie filled with things like socks or mittens, hotel-sized toiletries, a religious tract and a card with information about local shelters and food pantries. Those kinds of gifts neither enable nor judge but they do spread God’s love. Money, gift cards and socks are just temporary solutions, however, and connecting someone with the right resources is ideal. Nevertheless, immediate needs must be met immediately, social services are rarely immediate, and some situations fall through the cracks.
When I see street people or panhandlers, I think of my nephew who, because of a combination of incredibly poor decisions, mental illness, drugs and alcohol, is one of them. They are the modern day version of the Bible’s lepers who had to sit outside the city gate—outcasts. Society has no use for them and they no longer fit into society. To a great extent, they must depend on social services and handouts to get through the day. Some are lost souls and some are scam artists, but how am I to know and who am I to judge? Rather than getting self-righteous, I remind myself, “There, but for the grace of God, go I or my children or grands.”
Jesus didn’t ask people how they got in their predicaments before healing them or ridding them of demons and the prodigal’s father didn’t ask his lost son for an accounting of his wastrel ways—they simply laid on God’s grace. Whether or not someone is worthy of our assistance is not a question that we, as Christians, should be asking. Rather, we should be asking what we can do to remedy the situation both in the short and run long. Remember, none of us are worthy of God’s grace but we all happily accepted it!
I have a young friend who’s quite a sports fan. Not only can he spout statistics for his favorite baseball and football players, he can recite the biographies of the top American Ninja Warriors as well. He knows about several athletes and yet none of them know anything about him or would recognize him on the street. I don’t know which team he favored for last Sunday’s Super Bowl but I’m sure he knew who led in kicking and punting or kick and punt returns. Enthusiastic fans do more than know the stats—they often wear team jerseys and may even paint their faces. The prevalence of blue and red shirts on Sunday made it clear the fans at our church favored the Patriots. Considering all the whooping, hollering, high fives and fist bumps that occurred later that day while watching the Super Bowl, you’d think the fans were the ones scoring the points. Using the pronoun “we” for their favored team, they moaned about calls, trash talked the opposition and analyzed plays as if they were on the field. Although fans can dress like their favorite team member, know the stats for the players, and watch every game, they’re not on a first name basis with any of the team. Neither friends nor acquaintances, they’re just fans.
For two years, I was part of a women’s ministry. One of its purposes was to host a web site for twelve Christian writers. We were a diverse multi-generational group and the site offered hyperlinks to our individual blogs. All were women who felt they’d been called by God to expand His kingdom through their writing. We regularly shared our prayer concerns with one another and a month rarely passed without one or more women requesting prayers for their writing or asking for divine inspiration. Sadly, the ministry disbanded this past year, in great part due to the lack of writing by most of the authors.
Our pastor once told the story of a recently married parishioner. After a long day of travel, he and his new wife finally arrived at their hotel. The groom hoisted the bride in his arms and opened the door to their deluxe suite. It had a beautiful view of the beach, a small kitchenette, and an elaborate entertainment system. What it didn’t appear to have was a bed! They finally checked the sofa and discovered it was a hide-a-bed. They were exhausted and, deciding it was too late to complain, the newlyweds unfolded the bed and settled in. Like most hide-a-beds, this one had a thin mattress and two supporting bars that seemed to dig into whatever part of the body was downward. The couple tossed and turned and, needless to say, their honeymoon night did not meet their expectations.
