Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Politics and Religion
Where your treasure is: how would Jesus handle panhandlers?

Where your treasure is: how would Jesus handle panhandlers?

Last updated on: October 18, 2021 at 8:42 pm by Kathryn Shihadah

Where your treasure is: how would Jesus handle panhandlers? 2021-10-18T20:42:38-04:00 Kathryn Shihadah

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Panhandlers, homeless folks, beggars – they are a tragically common sight in every city.

Growing up as an evangelical, I was taught – maybe not explicitly, but taught nonetheless – that:

Beggars are lazy and don’t want to work. AND/OR,
They have lived irresponsibly and are now getting their just desserts. AND,
If we help them, we will be encouraging them to keep begging, and they’ll never contribute to society. AND/OR,
If we give them money, they’ll probably spend it on booze or drugs.

These “facts” were all corollaries of 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12

“For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”

As the saying goes, “The Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.”

panhandler

“Trashcan and a Homeless Man” by St Stev is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Reformation

To my shame, I admit that I rarely gave spare change to desperate people. I did contribute to certain charities – the ones that preached the Gospel along with providing food or diapers or whatever. I figured, as did every evangelical I knew, that it’s better to be saved and starving than unsaved and fed. (Notice the simplified, binary thinking here.)

As I left evangelicalism behind, I began to question every belief. I also finally began to get a proper education in social justice (some books I found helpful are listed here). My entire perspective changed in a profound way. My only regret is that it took me so long to get there.

In brief, I discovered that most or all I’d learned (from Christians) about poverty and the poor was wrong – not just that, it was un-Christlike.

Question: How had I spent 50+ years doing the exact opposite of what Jesus instructed and modeled, all the while thinking I was pleasing him?

Answer: I did what low-key racist ideology, cloaked in Scripture, taught me to do. I thought I was obeying the Bible. I lived by the motto,”My pastor’s interpretation of the Bible says it, I believe it, that settles it.”

I know, those are strong words, but I stand by them. We “knew” those lazy, irresponsible, drug users were people of color. That’s racism.

(TBH, some bits of that old ideology still haunt me, and I have to consciously put them out of my mind.)

What did Jesus say/do?

Jesus fed the hungry. He asked no questions, preached no pre-meal sermons, passed no judgments. He simply fed.

Well, technically, he told his disciples to do it – but the disciples wanted the crowd to pay their own way:

As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat” (Matthew 14:15-16).

Jesus ministered to the sick. No strings attached – not even a thank-you (see Luke 17:11-19).

Jesus literally told us that helping the needy is the same as helping Jesus himself. Let us not forget: these actions make us welcome or unwelcome in the Kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46).

Jesus taught, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14). That’s pretty straightforward. Do we dare take Jesus at his word on this one?

Jesus also said, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21).

And, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). Again, that’s “give to the one who begs from you” – not “tell the one who begs from you to stop being lazy and get a job”; not “refuse the one who begs from you because they’re probably a drunk or drug addict.” Sounds like Jesus might be more interested in our priorities than our expertise as social workers.

(Commercial: if you question “business as usual” in Christianity – or want to start questioning it – subscribe to my newsletter, and we can journey together!)

What do the epistles say?

The message of the epistles is the same:

“But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17).

“Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15-16).

“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8).

These words are not ambiguous. There’s no reasonable way to interpret them to make caring for the poor optional.

But what about the facts?

It’s great to know what the Bible commands, but unless we deal with the attitude of our hearts, we won’t be joyfully obedient. In the next post, we’ll see if our assumptions about the poor are valid. Those assumptions are:

Beggars are lazy and don’t want to work. AND/OR,
They have lived irresponsibly and are now getting their just desserts. AND,
If we help them, we will be encouraging them to keep begging, and they’ll never contribute to society. AND/OR,
If we give them money, they’ll probably spend it on booze or drugs.

Hope to see you back!

(If you are energized by challenges to the evangelical status quo like this, you’d enjoy my blog. Sign up for my free newsletter here!)

(If you would like to comment, please pop over to my Facebook page. All of my posts are there and open to constructive comment! I welcome your thoughts. And don’t forget to subscribe to my newsletter!)

RELATED POSTS YOU MIGHT FIND INTERESTING:

The deception of “righteousness”

Evangelicals and progressives: let’s dialogue about Jesus and poverty

Palestinians don’t just need peace – they need Just Peace

The (not so) secret message of the Good Samaritan

FEATURED IMAGE: “Trashcan and a Homeless Man” by St Stev is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Previous Post

September 28, 2021

Are masks a form of persecution, or an opportunity for self-sacrifice?

Next Post

October 27, 2021 Lies we tell ourselves about poverty and the poor

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion becoming progressive christmas exvangelical Gaza family injustice interfaith islam Palestine and Israel parable politics Ramadan rohr sexual orientation ten commandments Uncategorized upside-down bible women

Select a Month October 2026 July 2026 May 2026 April 2026 September 2025 August 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz