Should I Give Money to Homeless People?
Should I give money to homeless people? What if they spend it on drugs? If I gave them money, wouldn’t that just enabling them to be lazy instead of being productive members of society? These are all questions that I have often wondered for myself.
Jesus teaches generosity
In Luke 12:30, Jesus says.
“Give to anyone who asks” —Luke 12:30 (NLT)
If a homeless person asks me for money, then according to Jesus, I should give him some.
Here’s something else that Jesus said related to this topic:
“If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.” —Matthew 5:40–41 (NASB)
That’s pretty crazy. Even when I’m forced to give my own time, energy, or hard-earned physical property to someone, I should offer to give that person even more.
Here’s another concept that Jesus taught related to this topic:
“Love your neighbor as yourself.” —Mark 12:31 (NIV)
It’s a shame that this saying has become such a cliche, because it’s actually a really radical concept. If I really love someone else to the same degree that I love myself, then I would be just as willing to spend my resources on that person as I am to spend them on myself.
Generosity is hard, but that’s good
When I think about how generous Jesus wants me to be, it makes me feel horrible because of how bad I am at it. When people ask me for money, I refuse them all the time (disobeying Christ). When I’m spending resources, I’m spending them on myself 99.9% of the time (instead of spending them on others like Jesus teaches).
Generosity is hard. And Jesus’s teachings about it make me feel bad.
But I think that Jesus had reasons for teaching such extreme, radical generosity.
It keeps me humble. Jesus’s teachings are so difficult that I could never fulfill them. That reminds me of how sinful I am, which keeps me from becoming proud. As long as I keep Christ’s teachings in mind, I’ll always remain humble.
It forces me to depend on Jesus. Jesus’s teachings are so impossibly difficult that they force me to rely on him. I could never fulfill them on my own, so my only hope is to depend on his supernatural spirit to help me with them.
When I actually am impossibly generous, Jesus gets glorified. Jesus’s teachings are so extreme, that whenever I actually live by them, it is powerful. Can you imagine how much awe a homeless person would feel toward God if Christians were radically generous towards him instead of ignoring him like everyone else? Following Jesus’s teachings demonstrates his love toward others while also strengthening God’s reputation.
A practical way to give to the homeless
When I pull up to a red light next to a homeless man, the easiest thing for me to do is to ignore him. But ignoring someone in need is such a missed opportunity to share God’s love! I’m not good at conversations, and it’s hard to have a deep conversation when the light might turn green any second, so I had an idea:
What if I write a heartfelt, encouraging note, stuff it in an envelope with some money, and then just keep that envelope in my car ready to give it away next time I pull up next to a homeless person?
I think that would be so much more impactful than ignoring him or silently giving him a couple dollars.
If you think this is an effective way to share God’s love with the homeless, then feel free to print & give out the Encouraging Homeless Note I wrote or write your own version of it!