Today's Blog

Encouraging Signs in Church Property Disputes
Part 1 in series: Presbyterian Church USA: The Saga Continues
Posted for Friday, March 2, 2007

Send an e-mail link of this page to a friend. E-mail Mark D. Roberts

Visit the guestbook. Go to the homepage.

Why Mississippi?
Posted for Friday, March 2, 2007

I'm interrupting my series on Loving Your Enemies to deal with a significant story that I've been following

Give to Everyone Who Begs from You
Part 5 in the series: A More Inconvenient Truth
Posted for Wednesday, March 7, 2007

You can see my dorm, Straus Hall, in the center of this picture. My bedroom window lies within the red box.

Jesus said, "Give to everyone who begs from you" (6:30). This sounds simple enough to follow, but I can't tell you how many debates I have been in with other Christians about this particular verse. When I was in college, my friends and I dealt with this issue almost daily, because there were many beggars in Cambridge, Massachusetts. During my freshman year, my dorm sat right on Harvard Square. I couldn't go to the bank or get an ice cream cone from Brigham's without running into folks who'd ask me: "Got a qwa-tuh?" (That's Bostonian for "Do you have a quarter, please?")

Then, I spent my first seven years of professional ministry on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood. In any given week we had literally hundreds of street people coming to the church looking for financial assistance. It was truly impossible for us to give to everyone who begged from us. We had neither enough time nor enough stuff. Moreover, there was the perennial problem of what people would do with what we gave them. Money would, in many cases, be used for cigarettes or alcohol. Food vouchers would often be sold on the streets, with the proceeds supporting unhealthy habits. Literally following the command of Jesus seemed to be enabling harmful behavior, not helping people in genuine need.

So what do we do with the command of Jesus to "Give to everyone who begs from you"? It's true that in the time of Jesus most beggars needed the basics of food and shelter, and wouldn't have squandered their alms on unnecessary and unwholesome items. Moreover, it's also true that Jesus wasn't laying out here a systematic ethics of charitable giving. He was using hyperbole–exaggeration, if you will–to get His audience's attention and to make a striking point. God help us not to blunt this point with our rationalizations! Yes, it might in fact be true that there are times when we ought not to give to one who begs, or at least we should not give what that person asks. But our habit, our pattern, our inclination should always be in the direction of generosity. Better to err by giving away too much than by withholding too much.

Will we be deceived sometimes? No doubt. Will we feel ripped off? I'm sure of it. I've felt this way dozens of times throughout my life. But then I remember that Jesus said, "From anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt," and "if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again" (Luke 6:29-30). I'm quite sure that when I finally stand before the judgment throne of Christ, He won't say to me: "Mark, you were too generous. You were a patsy. You gave away too much."

Send an e-mail link of this page to a friend. E-mail Mark D. Roberts

Visit the guestbook. Go to the homepage.

A Church of Feet and Ears, Section C
Part 15 of series: What is a Church? Biblical Basics for Christian Community
Posted for Thursday, October 26, 2006

A Church of Feet and Ears, Section C
Part 15 of series: What is a Church? Biblical Basics for Christian Community
Posted for Thursday, October 26, 2006

Send an e-mail link of this page to a friend. E-mail Mark D. Roberts

Visit the guestbook. Go to the homepage.

Send an e-mail link of this page to a friend. E-mail Mark D. Roberts

Visit the guestbook. Go to the homepage.

	Start Here: Kingdom Essentials for Christians by Don Williams How can Christians live as members of God's kingdom?		The Annotated Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens ed. Michael Hearn Everything you ever wanted to know about A Christmas Carol.

Sign Up for Series Updates and Monthly Newsletter If you'd like regular e-mail updates on my blogging series, as well as a monthly newsletter, sign up here.

Blogging Pastors Wanted! Are you a blogging pastors? Are you curious about blogging pastors? Click here to add your name to my blogging pastors list. Click here to check out the list.