For the past several weeks the YoungMarrieds class I teach at SoHills on Sunday mornings has been talking about how those of us who seek to be Christ-followers should respond to people we encounter who appear to be in need.We’ve all been there. You pull up to a stop light and see a man or woman standing by the side of the road with a cardboard sign asking for a handout. Their hand written sign indicates they are one, or more, of the following: homeless, hungry, stranded in town, without a job, a disabled veteran.
Or someone approaches you in a Wal-Mart parking lot and asks for money in order to put gas in their car. They indicate they've just gotten out of an addiction rehab program and they're on their way to a nearby city where a job awaits them.
What do you do?
Do you give money knowing the person may use it to buy drugs or alcohol... or do you say “no” or even ignore the person as you drive/walk by? No one wants to be a sucker in these situations, but at the same time, Jesus’ call to help the poor echoes in our hearts and minds.
Realizing there are no easy answers to any of these situations, I found the following "ABCs of helping" to be useful:
Acknowledge the person has a problem.
Do not Believe everything you see or hear.
Compassion is not judged by giving people what they want.
