Helping the Needy

All humanitarian deeds draw inspiration from the Gospel verses on the Final Judgment: Mt 25: 37-40 “Whereupon the just will answer, Lord, when was it that we saw thee hungry, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When was it that we saw thee a stranger, and brought thee home, or naked, and clothed thee?  When was it that we saw thee sick or in prison and came to thee?  And the King will answer them, Believe me, when you did it to one of the least of my brethren here, you did it to me.”

Those verses are inspirational and wonderful to think about.  We can all talk the Christian / good-deeds talk, but putting these words into practice is a different story.  While I was out for a walk on my lunch break today, I was approached by a homeless lady who wanted money to buy her own food and drink.  To make a long story short, I agreed to buy her some food to eat to make sure that she was really getting food and not supporting some addiction or other unhealthy habit.

Afterwards, I was bothered by it.  Why is it that we give so reluctantly to those in need?  Sure, we all hear stories about people asking for money and then using it for drugs… but you just never know when there can be a legitimate need for life essentials.  The needy can sometimes use guilt-tripping strategies to convince you to help them, but then again wouldn’t we be inclined to do so as well if we were in a desperate situation like that as well?

In the end, this did push me out of my comfort zone and I’m glad it did.  It’s also amazing that I have such an incredible and supporting wife who reassured me that I did the right thing.

What are your experiences with helping the needy?  What are your challenges?  Please feel free to share.

Be a light to your world today!

photo credit: <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/10015349@N00/2744567495″>a lesson in generosity</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a&gt; <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a&gt;