Does Christ Want Us to Give to Those who Won't Work?

Mat 5:42 Give to him that asks you, and do not turn away from him that wants to borrow from you.

The Greek word used for "give" here, didomi, means not only to give something to someone, like a gift, but also to give of yourself. The Greek for "ask," aiteo, mean to ask for things for your use, asking someone to do something, and begging.

When I am confronted with able-bodied people on the street, begging, I am torn. I know that most of these people are on the street out of choice. They stake out lucrative corners and make enough money through begging that they don't have to do anything productive for a living. The question is: does Christ want us to give to them?

The answer is clearly yes. I don't believe that Christ meant this for his own time, when only the ill or widowed begged. I believe that he meant this and all his statements for all time. However, does this mean that we must give these people what they want, which is money or money for drugs and alcohol, or what they need, which is something else?

I think both the wording and the entire thrust of the Beatitudes that we should give these people what they need. Notice, that Christ doesn't say that we should give these people what they ask for. He has been very specific until this point about what to give. In the previous verse, he say if someone wins your coat, give them you cloak also. But here, the instruction is for us not to turn away. We need to recognize that there is a problem and that there .

People who are begging obviously need something. In Christ's time, they needed food, money, or a job. Today, those who are begging need help of a different kind. Their poverty is not physical. It is spiritual. Since the major point of this sermon is that spiritual is more important than physical needs, I think you could make the case that people today are in worse shape than the beggars of Christ's lifetime.

Since Christ's was speaking for all time, he leaves it to us not to turn away. Instead, our obligation is to figure out what these people need and how to give of ourselves to get it to them.
This is a lot more difficult simply than handing over a few bucks. As a matter of fact, I maintain those that hand over a few bucks rather than face the spiritual poverty in this type of begging are poor Christians, looking for an easy way to turn way. They are exactly like the self-satisfied Pharisees of Christ's time, who did everything for surface reasons, to feel good about themselves, and miss the real point of those practices.