[Pastor Ralph]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?

[JanMary]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?

1)It's strange...I'm still considered the poor....and yet because of all we have been given by others generosity, and continue to be given, we are able to give to others who are more in need. His teaching is what my family has been living, for a number of years, only we've been the receivers. Walking in these shoes, I no longer judge others, nor try to guess why they are in the situation they are in. Ours was sheer circumstance due to the economy, not to carelessness, lavish or wasteful lifestyle, or any other reason others might judge as being something "we had coming to us", or that "we deserved". But the Lord allowed it, I believe, to teach us all of these things Jesus was teaching in these scriptures. When I see a need in others and it's in my power to give, I give with joy, and thank God that we are getting back on our feet again

When we had plenty, before, the losses, I stuggled over giving to someone who "Might buy wine or drugs" with it. A very wise woman told me "When we give, we give with no strings attached. When it leaves our hand, we have no more say in what is done with the GIFT. How do we know but that the wine or the drug may be the very thing that brings them to the bottom, where the person will look up to seek God's help and salvation?" I no longer care what is done with what I give...If the Holy Spirit says to give, I give..no questions asked.

2)I learned a beautiful lesson awhile back on this issue....I had 3 dollars, and no more was in sight. I held on tightly to it, because I didn't know when I might need it. No more came. Then one day the Lord touched my heart to give it to someone whose need was greater than mine....as soon as I let go of it, He provided much more for me. I don't hang onto money greedily anymore...it just clogs up God's holy Pipeline. Selfishness, greed, or the belief that "I won't have enough if I give" is just a lie of Satan to keep us in the belief that our money is ours, and that it's ok to be stingy and self centered.

[Tabatha]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?

The term Hypocrites, as used here , describes people who do good acts for appearances only__not out of compassion or other good motives. Their actions may be good, but their motives are hollow. These empty acts are their only reward, but God will reward those who are sincere in their faith.

There is one thing I love to do and that is cook, When I hear prayer requests for people who are sick and need prayer, I fix them a meal for however many in the family and take them food. No one need ever know. My cubbards are never bare. Another thing I like doing is sending cards when I feel some one needs encouraging. God has blessed me so above and beyond what i expect, not always materially, but also spiritually.

When Jesus says not to let your left hand know what your right hand is doing , He is teaching that our motives for giving to God and to others must be pure. It is easy to give with mixed motives , to do something for someone if it will benefit us in return . But believers should avoid all scheming and give for the pleasure of giving and as a response to God's love .

I believe sometimes we hold back giving to the poor for fear of wanting to bless ourselves with material things to do better than the Jones. If we give what we have we are afraid of going with out. I find when I don't have much I just share and God replenishs double but not always what I gave out.

I love God's surprises when He blesses. LOL I always remember Job's life. Amazing

[Stan]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?

matt 5:42Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
matt 6:1Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

It make me more aware that Jesus wants us to help those who can't help themselves. We should not judge anyone on their needs but on their heart, and we should always be willing to help them when we can.

prov. 14:31He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
prov.19:17He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

It is all through scripture that we are to help the poor and God will reward us when we do. When we allow the wants of this life to overcome our desire to help others we fail to keep God first place in our life. Having things often keepus from giving to those in need and often being afraid of what tomorrow will bring instead of depending on God keeps us from giving to those in need.

There is no good reason for not doing the will of God and helping those who can't help theselves. We must desire the things of God and not the things of the world.

[charisbarak]

We are to give to the poor in secret too. I was once in a place when my 4 children were young, where I didn't have much $. I saw how so many were so giving & shared with us to make their Christmas (for example) more special. Now I am much older, the children have children of their own & I have opportunities to share my $'s with those in need. What a blessing--for us & them!!

I think we need to use wisdom when giving to the poor. We will know, especially if they're part of the Body of believers, that their needs are real & whatever the Lord lays on our hearts to give, we need to give. Even if you don't have much $ yourself, there are always needs you can fill for the poor in other ways. We have no excuses--except, perhaps, an illness.......

[Roxanne]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?

YOU GIVE TO THE POOR YOU GIVE TO JESUS...GIVE MORE TO THE POOR...BECAUSE WE TEND TO JUDGE PEOPLE ..LIKE THEY DO THIS AND THAT AND THAT IS WHY THEY ARE POOR.. WE SHOULD PASS NO JUDGEMENT ..BUT GIVE ...GIVE FROM THE HEART!!!!!!

[Cee]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?

In Matthew 5:42, this was probaly not a general requirement to give to everyone who asks, but a reference to the poor. In Matthew 6:1, Jesus is referring not to brag on giving to the poor. If the Holy Spirit prompts me to give something to the poor I will if I have it and think nothing else about it. Because some people will keep saying that can't help but being poor all of the time and will not try and help themselves. There is a big difference in being poor ad greedy looking for a handout. Yes that is a good readon to me.

[Elwood C O'Dell]

I feel that our giving to others is a private matter between God, them and ourselves. It is as a way to minister to them out of a heart of love. We need to carefully look at the circumstances involved so that we are not encouraging laziness in a person who is not willing to work for their needs.

I really like what Barnes has to say in his commentary regarding Matthew 5:42. Give to him that asketh thee - This is the general rule. It is better to give sometimes to an undeserving person than to turn away one who is really in need. It is good to be in the habit of giving. At the same time, the rule must be interpreted so as to be consistent with our duty to our families 1Ti_5:8 and with other objects of justice and charity. It is seldom, perhaps never, good to give to a person who is able to work, 2Th_3:10. (I would say if they are not willing to work) To give to such is to encourage laziness, and to support the idle at the expense of the industrious. If such a one is indeed hungry, feed him; if he needs anything further, give him employment. If a widow, an orphan, a man of misfortune, or an infirmed man, lame, or sick, is at your door, never send any of them away empty. See Heb_13:2; Mat_25:35-45. So this is true of a poor and needy friend that wishes to borrow. We are not to turn away or deny him. This deserves, however, some limitation. It must be done in consistency with other duties. To lend to every worthless man would be to throw away our property, encourage laziness and crime, and ruin our own families. It should be done consistently with every other obligation, and of this everyone is to be the judge. Perhaps our Saviour meant to teach that where there was a deserving friend or brother in need, we should lend to him without usury, and without standing much about the security.

[Soomee]

These questions are really making me to examine myself as they really challenge me. I find it quite hard to obey blindly.
2a & Am I giving straight away when some one approaches me and ask for something? It depends. If I am meeting that person for the first time I tend to ask some quick questions to find out whether that person is genuine. I migrated to Australia from a poor South Asian country. The welfare system in Australia is very good. I was on Government welfare as soon as we migrated (until I got a job) and we not only lived comfortably, we also managed to save some money to meet any surprises in life. So I know that if someone approaches me on the street for money, I really need to use the God given wisdom to establish whether the need is genuine. Once we were standing outside the church and a lady approached us for money as the people consider the Christians are easy targets. It is very difficult and there is no cook book solution for giving. If we are not wise in giving then the money that will bless the really needy ones will go into the hands of drug addict, for example. I believe that we have some responsibility too in giving and we cannot just say we blindly give and do not care how the money is spent by the receiver. It is quite difficult to set one rule. What we need to do is to be open to God’s (Holy Spirit’s) instruction all the time and act based on its promptings. My spouse and I generally discuss before we do charities. We definitely know the need of some families in the country we come from. Therefore, it is easy for us to help them as we know there genuine needs. Otherwise we choose to give to the charities our church supports.
Borrowing: A Godly man gave me an advice and it sounds reasonable to me. “If someone asks to borrow for the first time and I don’t know much about him/her, I could give. But if he/her does not return it and come back later and ask some more to borrow then I need to think twice. I can tell them the reason why I am not giving this time around”.
2c & d) The needs around us are plenty. But we cannot empty our barns completely. We also need to have some savings to meet the lean years. Some people may argue against it. It may not be the good enough reason as I may not be up there in my faith yet. I always think of the story of Joseph & Pharaoh. Joseph was saving the grain in the barn for the lean years to come. He could have emptied the barn and told Pharaoh that God will provide when we hit the lean years. This “faith” subject is really hard to interpret and apply. Let us listen to Holy Spirit’s promptings in this. Charities that help the poor to set up some projects that will allow them to create employment could be good ones to give our support. Our church is helping a charity organisation that helps to buy and give trishaws for families in India. The families can use that trishaw to earn their living and gradually become self supportive.
Let our heart attitude be correct before God.

[jjj]

Giving, Lending - the words unconditionally and grace need to accompany a generous spirit. Wisdom and discernment need to be asked for in this time. I think if you are prompted give, lend, if you are unsure ask the Father. This is then kept private with the Audience of One. Holding lightly knowing the Father is our Provider increases our Faith.
Much to think on with this one.

[Lion of Grace]

The whole chapter in Chapter 5 is a teaching on retaliation. It seems to me the whole tone of the chapter is on sacrificial giving. Giving beyond what we even generally think to give or even want to give in some circumstances. People tend to give on a more superficial level than that. I used to think I had to know all about what I was giving to......but after falling on some hard times in the past due to illness and lack of income for both my husband and me, I really came to appreciate those who gave. Most gave so generously and touched me so deeply I try to "pay it forward" every chance I get.
I have a special place in my heart for the poor and those that are downtrodden and I don't want to judge anyone's circumstances. When we are asked by a stranger for money.....I give. We never know who we are helping and I'd rather err with a good heart than turn away someone who may really be in need. I've found it to be true as our Pastor says "You can't outgive God." It is more blessed to give than receive and I know I've found God faithful when I've given the last penny for someone else. I think a lack of faith keeps us from giving more. We want to control and investigate and to a degree it's wise to do that.....but giving in faith and to your utmost and of your most is really what Jesus talks about in this passage I think. It takes a leap of faith to give the last $10.00 in your purse to someone struggling as you yourself wonder what you are going to do about the thing that $10.00 was going to cover for your own need. God is faithful though. I can only say He has proved that over and over.

[love.serve.know]

I think we have to love someone to give without begrudging them or trying to examine if they really worked "hard enough". I will give without keeping a score. We don't give because we are competitive - what if the person turns their life around because of my help? It's also, what if he/she is in that position because of laziness? Judgmental. A terrible reason.

[Lisa Rupert]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result?
The teaching of Jesus in 5:42 on giving to the needy influences me and my attitude towards giving to the poor more than I do. I will donate to charities more, instead of waiting for a tragedy (like hurricane Katrina) instead I will donate before the need comes about. I will reach out more and I won't be judgmental about it.

What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?
In my state of Florida it has been placed into law that the poor can't panhandle (on the streets) for money or work anymore making it against the law for this type of activity. I am totally against this because Jesus says we are to take care of the poor and they need only to ask.
I am sometimes reluntent to giving money to the poor because I wonder if the person will buy drugs or alcohol or will they really buy food with it. But this is not a good enough reason for me not giving to the poor, instead once I release it I won't wonder about where it will go. My job is to help the poor not judge the poor this is what I've learned from this lesson. To give it and don't look back on it, I don't need to rationize my reasoning anymore because Jesus has made it clear we are to take care of the poor.

[Patricia A]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4)

How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor?
5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.


But we know that it is not enough to just offer prayers for the needy. As 1 John 3:17 and 18 (NRSV) says, “How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.”


We need to share what we have with those who do not have and do so with a humble heart knowing that all things belong to God. I will strive to share without letting folks know. When sharing to let others know, we commit the sin of pride.

[June]

If you give to the poor and less fortunate without announcing it to others, God sees and gives rewards, sometimes immediately, so long as it is done in love.

Sometimes the "poor" are not really poor. They are just looking for a handout. If anyone truly is in need I would give. Not only monetarily but with whatever I could spare. I would rather go without a meal than to see someone that is really poor and not able to provide for themselves. Again, I think this goes back to choice.Do I really want to work?? earn it or have someone just hand it to me.. I hope this doesn't sound judgmental because I am not the Judge. Priorities sometimes need to be changed.

[JustJeff]

This all aligns with the doctrine of loving your neighbor as yourself. The poor shouldn't be judged as to why they are or how they became poor. Nor should one lift up ones self because they may be better off. Rather, it would be beneficial to give as one is able, through a Christ centered non-profit that does do works to glorify God.
I myself serve the Lord and have given Him my life. I live equally with those the ministry serves, the poor and needy. It is not a life that is satisfied by what I have, but a life that keeps me closer to the Lord because of what I lack. I owe Him much more and often ask what more can I give?

[mags]

How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor?
I need to remember that we all can be in that situation. That ultimately we are no better - not superiorer to the poor. Jesus had a heart fo rthe poor, it was for them He would often reach to. We need to have that same heart if we want to be more like Jesus.

What will you do differently as a result?
This is something I am remembering, I am learning all the time and working on myself. I have a different attitude now than I did a year ago and I am relying on God to continue to change my heart toward the poor - especially those who don't really help themselves.

What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?
Our own situations - not being able to afford it - it is acceptable if the heart is right -> if we aren't trying to 'get ahead' but being obedient to God. However, we can still give our time etc to the poor if we can't give money. We need to be obedient to God's instructions on our lives for any one particular time.

[Lunga]

[quote name='Pastor Ralph' date='Dec 20 2007, 03:33 AM' post='32204']
Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?


give to those in need with all your heart.that shows Love.you dont do like hypocrites.they want to be honoured by men.blowing trumpet when they do something for needy.you need to give and keep ti secrretly. God will bless you in the public.sometimes they just want to receive and not knowing that blessed is the one who gives more than the one who receives.sometimes they do not appreciate.

that is not a good reason.we justt have to do God s will,no mattter what.

[emmaus]

These verses teach me that it's important to give to the needy and to not draw attention to the fact I when I do. This has made me stop and think about who we give to. It's hard to want to help someone who's not willing to help themselves. Yet this isn't fair to those who are unable to work for a living.

[masika]

Q2. (Matthew 5:42 and 6:1-4) How does Jesus' teaching here and in 5:42 on giving to the needy influence you and your attitudes towards the poor? What will you do differently as a result? What keeps us from giving more to the poor? Is that a good enough reason?
I should give in response to God’s Love.
My motives of giving to God and others must be pure. It is easy to give with mixed motives, to do something for someone if it will benefit us in return. But we Believers should avoid all scheming and give to please God alone.
Our acts should not self-centered but God-centered, done not to make us look good but to make God good.