It’s amazing how many times I’ve asked myself this question. Every time I travel, I see them and every time I see them, I ask it. So what is the right thing to do, especially as a follower of Christ? What would Jesus do?
God has really been convicting me about this subject for the last three months on the race, and even here in Vancouver; there are TONNES of homeless people. Every single time I see and walk past a beggar or a homeless person, the Holy Spirit stirs something in my heart that I just can’t seem to shake off.
When I was in Malaysia, I looked up examples from the bible of what Jesus did and what God instructed us to do when we are in a situation like this. It was CRAZY how many references there were and this is a summary of what I found:
- Jesus was an example of intentionally visiting and helping the weak, orphans and widows; and said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” He also preach the good news to the poor and crippled and sacrificed his riches to become poor so that by his grace and his poverty, we may become rich (Luke 4:16-21, 7:22, Acts 20:35, 2 Corinthians 8:9, James 1:27).
- When we oppress or despise a poor man or our neighbour, we are actually insulting the Lord who made them and we are called sinners. But when we are generous/righteous and give to the one who begs, not refuse the one who wants to borrow and share with those who do not have, God honours, blesses and is pleased with us and will remember and repay us later when we are in need. We are lending to the Lord (Psalm 24:1, 41:1-3, Proverbs 11:25, 14:23 & 31, 19:17, 22:9, 37:21, Matthew 5:42, Luke 3:11, 6:38, Hebrews 13:16).
- God answers those who are poor and needy; He will not forsake them or let the righteous go hungry. We have a duty to the poor. Isn’t our mission to loose the bonds of wickedness, undo the straps of the yoke, let the oppress go free and break every yoke? We are called to do good, to be rich in good works and to be generous and ready to share (Leviticus 19:9-10, Isaiah 41:17, Proverbs 10:3, Isaiah 58:6, 1 Timothy 6:18).
- The body of believers were unified and there was no needy person among them. They sold their possessions and gave freely to anyone in need without grudge or judgement. God tells us to give without letting others see and give as the amount your heart decides to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, “for God loves a cheerful giver” (Deuteronomy 15:7-11, Matthew 6:1-4, 19:21, Luke 12:33, Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-34, 2 Corinthians 8:13-15, 9:6-8, James 2:2-4).
- The consequences of pride, excess of food, love of money, living in luxury and prosperous ease without aiding the poor and needy will end in destruction. We brought nothing in the world and we cannot take anything out of it. Whoever oppresses the poor, and only cares about wealth will only come to poverty, e.g. a stingy man (Proverbs 22:16, 28:22, Ezekiel 16:49, 1 Timothy 6:6-10, James 5:1-6).
- God’s love is evident in our lives when we see our brothers in need and give. We cannot say we have faith but do not help a brother and sister in need. We need to seek to do good to our neighbours whether that means giving the needy a job so they can earn the money (1 Corinthians 9:3-14, 10:24, Ephesians 4:28, 2 Thessalonians 3:10, James 2:14-17, 1 John 3:17).
- When you feed the hungry, you are feeding Jesus and when you welcome a stranger, you are welcoming Jesus so when you hold a dinner, invite those that cannot repay you, e.g. the poor, crippled, lame and blind, and you will be blessed. What credit is that you if you only do good to those who do good to you? Love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return (Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 6:33-36, 14:12-14).
- God has chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and to enter the kingdom of God (Luke 6:20-21, James 2:5).
- We are hypocrites if we neglect justice, mercy, faithfulness and do not defend the rights of the needy. The righteous knows these things so do not give up in doing good for in due season, we will reap and one day we will give an account of what we have or haven’t done to God (Proverbs 29:7, Jeremiah 5:28, Matthew 23:23, Luke 16:19—25, Romans 14:12, Galatians 6:9).
- To those whom much was give and was entrusted with much, much will be required and demanded. Honour the Lord with our wealth by giving to the poor, which God originally blessed, gifted us with and gave us the power to earn, and we will be filled with plenty; God will provide and supply our every need (Deuteronomy 8:18, 1 Chronicles 299:14, Proverbs 3:9-10, 11:24, 28:27Philippians 4:19, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Luke 12:48, James 1:17).
Looking at how much scripture there is about this topic gives me good reason to believe that God had a HUGE heart for these minorities that we tend to forget and ignore. We can’t just walk past and hope that they will find their way in life, nor expect the government and charities to help them out; we have a duty as believers to love on them and give as Jesus would do. We are his representatives and we are to be the light and do the opposite of what the world tells us not to do. It’s also a chance to practice how to be generous and fight the battle of greed and wealth which “leads to all kinds of evil.”
So reading all these verses and desiring to be a doer rather than just a hearer of the Word, I believe God is instructing us, in particular me to:
- Give if someone asks. Lend willingly if someone asks to borrow. If I have excess, give it away to someone that has none. Give generously and cheerfully, without expecting anything in return and without everyone knowing about it. Look amongst the people around me and ask who are in need and always be ready to share.
- Love these people. Intentionally see Jesus in them and treat them how I would treat Jesus. Spend time with them (i.e. get to know them and hear their story). Share the truth of the gospel with them as that is the only thing that can satisfy and save them eternally.
- Actually give to charities or missionaries around the world that need help financially.
- Help locate or guide them towards organisations that can find jobs for them, teach them a skill or give them a job so they can earn their own wages.
You may ask, what happens if you give them money and they use it on drugs or alcohol, or the money ends up going to someone who is corrupting the system and putting helpless individuals on the streets to earn money for themselves? That is a great question and one that we need God’s discernment on. The truth is, you don’t know (unless you actually spend time with them). However, I do know that God is Sovereign; He knows our hearts and motives behind our giving, He is the ultimate judge and He loves and cares for His people. So no matter how the individual uses the money or if it gets passed to someone who is using these people, it’ll be between them and God; we can only do our part.
Money obviously doesn’t have to be the only option. You can take them out for lunch which one of my squad mates does an amazing job at, as this allows her time to converse with them, share Jesus and His love towards them. Other option is buying something prior (e.g. yoghurt cups or doughnuts) that you could give to them and be ready to give to anyone who asks.
God opened my eyes to this opportunity during my last month on the race in China. I was able to purchase these small yoghurt cups which only cost me 50c each (so cheap), and I was able to write ‘Jesus loves you’ in Chinese on the lids before giving it to them. The ladies that received them were SUPER grateful which fathoms me because it was such a small gift. But there were two ladies who were begging for money from us and I hadn’t written the words on the lid yet, so I quickly went to the side to do that and they followed me. I wrote it down and when I gave it to the women, I was able to read the words to them in which they repeated. In such a closed city where the word ‘Jesus’ is a crime, it was so amazing to share His love so simply and see their joy in repeating it and receiving the gift.
After the incident and thinking I may have just lost money, my dad notified me that I was going to receive my tax back from the year before. Incredible! What a blessing! And what a bountiful provision!
God knows our hearts and has blessed us with SO much in this world. He only asks that we share what we have been given, and in return, He promises to bless and provide for us. I’m still learning to apply this lesson every day but I know that whenever I step out and give generously to those less fortunate than me, God will have His hand over it. I love you all and hope this shines a light in a topic that is rather confusing.
