Dear Friends,
In the 1990s, when Jamie and I were working with and living with homeless people, there was one man we helped to get off the streets who began a habit I greatly admired. Living indoors and having plenty to eat for the first time in many years, he wanted to be able to help others who were still homeless. He read the words of Jesus in Luke 6:30, “Give to everyone who asks you,” and resolved to follow this instruction faithfully. Because he had many friends still living on the streets, and because teams from our house went out every day to visit them, this required planning ahead to have cash with him whenever he went out. If he had no money with him, he might be asked for change and have nothing to give. So he started going regularly to the bank to get rolls of quarters. He kept a roll of quarters with him every time he went out so that he could give a few coins to every person who asked him for change.
This week, at my Tuesday night home group, we read and discussed the same words “Give to everyone who asks you.” I asked everyone to share their first reactions upon reading these words. We all said that giving every time we are asked initially sounded like too difficult a thing to do. But, as we thought about it more and considered just how frequently we are asked for help, we wondered if this might not be too difficult to do after all. Most of us also commented that we do give often when asked but not always. And we observed that whether we give or not usually depends on how we are feeling in the moment as well as on whether we have brought something with us to give. By the end of the conversation, a number of us said we would like to start planning ahead, like my formerly homeless friend, to be ready to give when we are asked instead of when we feel like it and happen to have something on hand.
I’ve been thinking about the situations in which people ask me for money. Around once a week or less, I am asked by someone living outside for spare change. Sometimes I’m intentional about carrying five dollar bills so I can give people one, and sometimes I’m not. I want to start being more consistent in this. Other people in the group considered planning to have granola bars in the car instead of cash. (This can be a good option. But please remember that many homeless people do not have enough good teeth to chew hard foods. Any food you want to give instead of cash should be soft. For example, a chewy granola bar rather than a crunchy one.)
Also, there is often an invitation to make a small donation when I’m checking out at the grocery store. For a while, I was routinely making these, but then I stopped, using the reasoning that I give to other causes of my own choosing instead of whatever large organization the grocery store is supporting. But last night, I did the simple math in my head. If I buy groceries twice a week and am asked to round up my change for a charity, I will average around two fifty cent donations a week, adding up to a whopping $4.50 a month. Surely I can afford this. So why wouldn’t I support my local grocery store in a cause of their choosing?
Less frequently, there are kids selling candy for a school trip or canvassers asking for donations for a cause. I seldom want what is being sold, and occasionally there might be a cause I don’t want to support. But there really isn’t any reason I can’t give at least something most of the time.
Often people dismiss Jesus’ teachings as being too difficult without ever having tried to live them out. But as followers of Jesus, shouldn’t we be doing the things he tells us to do? What would it look like for you to give to everyone who asks you? Have you tried it? Might this be more doable than you think? Consider praying right now and asking Jesus to show you how he would have you be prepared to give to those who ask you. You might pray something like this:
Lord, everything I have is already yours. Let me use it in a way that honors you and honors those made in your image who are all around me. Show me right now how you would have me obey your teaching to give to all who ask.
Then listen, and see where the Spirit of Jesus might lead you.
Love in Christ,
Michelle
