“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4
Is your preference for choosing their food for them because you think they would NOT buy FOOD with the money? What about shelter? What if they had children to care for, or were sick and needed something else like medicine?
I am a bit poor myself but if we consider those without shelter and food I believe awareness should be raised and people along with governments should form organizations and helping centres for homeless and poor. We have something like that now but it would be nice if everybody would go and voluntaire from time to time. People in my country literally starve and have no money to cure themselves. Although when you see some shots and footage of Belgrade you will think it is all peachy but it really is not. People are without jobs and even if they have jobs they do not make enough to feed their families. Belgrade is another country in that part.
Moral obligation? No, not at all. If you'd like and are able to help the poor, then go ahead and do it! But you only have an obligation to live and honest life and not hurt others along the way as you live your life. Nobody should have to give their time/money to others if they don't want to.
Lets face it, the large majority of homeless people will spend their pennies that they get on alcohol. That is a cold hard fact, but of course there are those who use it well. If I would help them, which I don't because it's not like I have extra cash, I'd definitely offer them a meal instead of cash.
It's not only the homeless that are poor but people who live hand to mouth or who are on the breadline. Charities do help the poor, but it needs to go beyond feeding and housing them, to give them a chance to get out of the circle they have ended up in. Poverty really shouldn't exist to the extent it does in western countries, which is why when governments find money for overseas aid and refugees, there is hostility because the poor in their own country don't receive immediate help. Not all homeless people buy alcohol or cigarettes, some do, those who have become homeless due to these addictions. There are some who do use donations to buy food and a drink, and we shouldn't judge.
There's seems to be a lot of people that are judging the poor and homeless, without knowing the facts. The majority of the homeless and people classed as living in poverty, aren't living that way through choice. It's not a lifestyle that they have chosen, and they've also not got into that situation because they've spent all their money on drink and drugs. A lot of people in that situation would prefer you to offer them food or help them in the long term rather than just throwing a couple of coins at them as you walk past them without even stopping to speak.
I think helping the unfortunate should be more than just what your religion dictates to you. Yes, the religion is there to guide you towards helping people. But helping others should be innate to you, it should be a part of you. Because only then is it from your heart and only then you are able to help because you truly want to. It's not just because somebody told you to do so but because you are human and as a human, you want to help those people in need.
I think you should help everyone you can, especially the poor. If by "help" you mean give money or financial assistance, then I think you should be creative in how you do it. I like the old saying "Give someone a fish and you feed that person for a day. Teach them to fish and you feed them for a lifetime!" I think spending time or money helping poor people become not poor would be ideal. But we have to make sure we are financially healthy first. Like Abe Lincoln said, "You can't help the poor by being one of them!"
That's ludicrous. And probably propaganda. Of course religious people help the poor and less fortunate... but so do non-religious people. And what could a reward "possibly" be for helping someone except to feel good that we made a difference? The statement that you made there kind of sounds to me like bait to get people worked up and arguing. Not good. Bottom line, I'm sure all of us, whether religious or not, would help out poor people if we are able. I highly doubt that there would be thoughts of what kind of reward we'd get out of it. That's rather juvenile. I should also say that there is a big difference between helping those genuinely in need and those who have a sense of entitlement and think the world owes them... we pay their bills while they lounge around with their expensive smart phones... *totally* different matter.
