Give to Moochers

                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                                              

Jesus says to give to everyone who asks (Matthew 5:42, and Luke 6:30).

In other words, Jesus tells us to do the same as He does, and the same as His and our Father does.

But many people today take the opposite view: that when you give to people, you harm them.  Helping people, they say, makes them lazy and dependent on your charity, and robs them of their self-reliance and self-respect.  This opposite view is that it does needy people the most real good to not give to them.

We're probably not far from the mark if we think that argument sounds like the devil's rationalization.  His "thing," ever since his chat with Eve in the Garden of Eden, has always been to afirm the opposite of what God says.

But even if take it as nothing more than a current-useful "principle" of self-serving politicians, it doesn't seem that argument should ever persuade Christians.  At least not Christians practiced in choosing between what Jesus says, and what "the world" tells us.

The temptation to believe the politicians tempts Christians too, because we all know of, or have heard of, able-bodied people who live by "mooching" off of others, especially charitable others.  So we are all tempted to predicate our giving on whether we consider a person in need is "worthy"...or a moocher.

Let's be as straight on that score as Jesus is.  NO one...ourselves included...is "worthy" of the good God has lavished on us.  That's exactly why Jesus says we should give to every fellow-moocher who asks us for a little of what God has given our unworthy selves,

There are predatory people who fake neediness:  we can all agree on that.   Human beings are fallen creatures, some so fallen they will use other people to their own evil ends.   But they seem to be very few.  Muhammad Yunus, who started grameen ("community") banks to loan money to people so poor they were considered "uncredit-worthy" by the financial-system, writes that there is a 98% return on those loans.

Playing the percentages alone, it seems foolish to refuse to give to people in need because 2% of them would not repay you.

But for Christians, of course, our decision whether to obey Jesus or not doesn't really depend on the fact that other people are unworthy, or that some would take advantage of us.

If Jesus' command in the Sermon on the Mount to give to everyone isn't sufficient, we need to think about what our response to people in need says about ourselves.  Jesus' command to us in that same teaching was to "be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).

We are either people who believe and wish and do good regards other people; or we are people who distrust others, and believe their intentions are evil.

Every one of us makes our own decision which kind of person we will be.  And Jesus is very clear which kind of person is His follower.