We see them all the time. A man (or woman, occasionally) standing on the corner with the scraggly cardboard sign with something like “Anything helps”, “God Bless”, or “Homeless and hungry”. You look away, reach over and subtly lock your doors, turn up the radio, roll up your windows–anything to separate yourself from that person. Have you ever stopped and given them a few dollars? “They’ll probably just use it to buy beer.” “They’re probably just scamming people, and will walk back to their SUV after they’re done” I have heard those excuses more times than I can count from almost everyone I know. I used to say the same thing.
But here’s the point I’m leading up to: IT’S NOT YOUR JOB TO DECIDE THAT! They are God’s children just like we are. God loves them exactly as much as He loves us. We are not better, we are not holier, we are no different by God’s standards. Read the following verses from Matthew 25–read them slowly and really think about what Jesus is saying:
31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45“He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
My dad is the one who brought this verse to my attention when I gave the “They’ll just buy beer” excuse several years ago. He said that my intent in giving is what mattered. By giving to those people, my heart was in the right place and giving to them was the same as giving it straight to God. If they choose to deceive people or to make bad use of it, God will deal with them…it’s not our job to judge or to try to figure out if they’re being honest or not.
So next time you roll up to a corner and you have a few extra bucks, go ahead and give it away…and don’t give it another thought after that.
