“Endless Charity”

Thursday, November 26, 2020

     First of all, we are loving Christians who tithe and give our offerings, and God has blessed us dearly.

However, there is a family who are friends with our family, and we love them.  Yet, they are constantly taking advantage of our niceness and Christian faith because they are always asking for things, especially money, and they know we will try to help them… $40 here, $60 there, $100 here, another $40 there, another $80 there.  Many times it is twice a month or once a month.  This has been occurring over and over and over for the past three to four years.  Although they never pay us back, we continue to help them out because this is the Christian thing to do.  However, there is a time for all things!  It is just getting out of hand!  Will God be upset with us if we slowly and kindly stop giving them money and start putting these resources to better use?  Thank you for your help.

Sincerely,
Give Me A Break

Dear Give Me A Break,

The Bible tells us that it is a good thing to give and help others who are in need (Acts 20:35, Matt 19:21).  However, the Bible also has some strict rules regarding those who are unwilling to work and are always looking for handouts.  2 Thess 3:10 says that if a man won’t work, neither let him eat.  There is a point where giving to someone can actually hinder them from being productive and enable entitlement behavior.

Furthermore, the Bible tells us to be good stewards of what we have (1 Cor 4:2).  How you budget and spend your money needs to be generous and wise.  It sounds like you feel that you are being generous, but you are no longer being wise in your financial dealings.

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