You’ve likely heard the phrase: “He’d give you the shirt off his back.” It describes the kind of generosity displayed by someone who thinks of the needs of others ahead of his own.
A pastor friend of mine infused life into that phrase when he gave this startling challenge to his congregation: “What would happen if we took the coats off our backs and gave them to the needy?” Then he took his own coat and laid it at the front of the church. Dozens of others followed his example of radical generosity. This was in a northern winter climate, so the trip home from church was surely uncomfortable. But winter suddenly became more tolerable for the many people who received those coats.
When John the Baptizer was roaming the Judean wilderness, he had a stern warning for the crowd who came out to hear him. “You brood of snakes!” he scolded them. “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Luke 3:7-8). So they asked him, “What should we do?” (Luke 3:10). He responded with some practical advice: “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry” (Luke 3:11).
Notice that John’s advice wasn’t literally to give the shirts off their backs. Rather, he exhorted them to give out of their abundance. “If you have . . . ” In other words, take care of your own needs, but don’t hoard things. Be generous.
Our giving shouldn’t be guilt-based, for “God loves a person who gives cheerfully” (2 Corinthians 9:7). But when we give liberally, we find that it truly is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). None of us is too poor to give something.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Acts 7:1-29
More:
What does 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 tell us about the generosity of the poor church in Macedonia?
Next:
What are you not using that might be given to someone who has a need? What three people can you help this week in ways they might not expect?
pri1465 on October 16, 2011 at 3:13 am
Hi
I’m from Sri Lanka. We have a lot of beggars and most of them beg because they are too lazy to work. I have been duped many times by those who appeared in want and have helped them monthly only to find that they were not ill or in need at all. I now help only those I know and I do not help each and every stranger who rings my door bell.
I help the people who work for me. I personally know their difficulties and know how hard they work sometimes at a second job just to provide extras for their families.
I do feel bad at turning away strangers who ask for help but I been duped so many times I feel it is better to help those I know who need it and not help people who are too lazy to work.
would appreciate your views on this. thanks.
tim gustafson on October 16, 2011 at 7:19 am
This is a very difficult problem. The Bible presents a very balanced approach. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 that if someone refuses to work, that person should not eat. Yet the Jewish law (instituted by God Himself) was very careful to ask landowners to keep from gathering all their grain. This would permit the poor to glean grain from the corners of the land.
I think the larger point there is that the poor were able to DO something tl help themselves. The Proverbs are rife with warnings against laiziness.
But how are we to discern what person is a “professional beggar” as opposed to a genuinely helpless person? And what about those who are truly incapacitated and abandoned?
I think perhaps the larger point is that we are to have a willing and generous heart, yet we can really on the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit about helping strangers. Does anyone else have input on this? This question often troubles me as well.Thank you for asking it.
rncinca on October 16, 2011 at 12:04 pm
I try to look to Matthew 5:42 (Give to everyone who begs from you…) as well as Matthew 25:34-46 (I was hungry and you fed me…Lord when was it we saw you hungry?…just as you did it to one of the least of these…you did it to me) Please forgive the paraphrasing job! No, I do not give to everyone that asks but I do try to ask for wisdom and discernment, trying to stay out of judgement-what these persons need is entirely up to God, not me. I usually keep bottles of water in my car and feel very comfortable giving them especially to those at the freeway exits.
pagclk on October 16, 2011 at 12:27 pm
I traveled in an RV across the country. I found that giving water and food was best. If I got a disgusted look I figured that I had helped a scam artist. By not giving money, I feel I did not support alcoholics or drug users in feeding their habits but did supply their basic needs.
I learned this lesson while living in the manse with my stepfather who was a minister. One day when he and my mother were out, a man I recognized from the neighborhood came begging help to feed his family. I had no money, so I packed a box full of food and gave it to him. His wife returned the box later that evening explaining that he only wanted money to buy liquor. Unless it was a check paid directly to a landlord or to a drugstore for medicine, I never give money directly to anyone begging.
sun15 on October 17, 2011 at 12:38 am
Hi
I have often been confused about this too however recently I have begun to realize that there is far more than just me and the recipient involved in the give-take process. God is with me throughout the process. So if someone asks me for help and I am in a dilemma whether that person is trying to cheat me, I generally give what I can. Because i wont become very poor if I give (even if I was cheated)/ moreover God knows my heart when I give. You see He knows I am giving with a good intention. Matthew 5:41 says- If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. and Matthew 5:42 says- Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
This is an act we are doing for God and we are doing it because we have unconditional compassion for people around us just like Jesus had for us though we did not deserve Him.
tim gustafson on October 17, 2011 at 1:07 am
This is a great conversation. There doesn’t seem to be an easy answer here. I would like to think my “default” setting would be to give — but I don’t want to enable someone who will exploit a gift to support an addiction.
Still, it makes me wonder how often I exploit the good gifts that God gives me. Hmm.
winn collier on October 19, 2011 at 5:06 pm
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks of giving, where the right hand doesn’t know what the left hand is doing. That kind of self-forgetfulness seems to complement well the truth you’re reminding us of.
vinodlam on October 22, 2011 at 1:21 pm
It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding;
You often say, “I would give, but only to the deserving.”
The trees in your orchard say not so, nor the flocks in your pasture.
They give that they may live, for to withhold is to perish.
Kahlil Gibran