When Jesus said 'Give to the poor,' do you think He meant give to the lazy who can't hold a job?

Question

Proverbs 21:25

The sluggard's craving will be the death of him, because his hands refuse to work.

Proverbs 6: 9-11

How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man.

Would Jesus have quit his carpenter job and got 'free money' if the government back then gave out welfare and food stamps? SERIOUS QUESTION THX :o}

CPT i didnt say that. lying, something liberals are Good at?

Answer 1

Exactly Nikki. I can readily apply the don't-throw-pearls-to-swine passage to those who are lazy. I work too hard for my money to give it freely to them.

Answer 2

Exactly !! But nowdays, how do your sort them out ? There are lots of poor that can't get good education and then it leads to megar paying jobs. There are lots of the poor who work these jobs and don't have enough left over to pay their light bill. Some men are sluggards, but then there are many who are not. Just down on their luck. The poor get poorer and the rich become richer. I can gaurantee you, that a rich man doesn't give a damned about the poor. They strongly feel exactly like you do. No pity on the poor. They and you feel, that is is the people's own fault if their poor. Well I beg to differ, on that subject. Some men are born into poverty and can work their hind end off and never get ahead. Let a poor man go to a bank with a small amount of money to start an account there. Then after a year, go back to ask for a loan , only to get turned down because he has no credit. I could go on and on. When you start dogging on the poor people , then I need to stand up to defend them. Until you know the situation, we can not judge all poor people and call the lazy sluggards. Jesus also tells you to help the poor. He speaks about the lazy sluggard and the folding of the hands. Many poor women and children suffer, if they have a man in their family that does that. So it is the innocent ones who suffer. I am Thankfull, that this country will help the poor citizens who are down on their luck. Third world countries are not this lucky. Poor people all over the world suffer. The rich don't care for the poor. Thats a sin too.

Answer 3

Nikki,

Jesus' words:
"...happy are the merciful, for they will have mercy shown to them!" (Matthew 5:2-12)
"...I say to you that anyone who is angry with his brother must stand his trial..."(Matthew 5:21-22)
"...give to the man who asks anything from you..." (Matthew 5:40-42)
"...you shall love your neighbor..." (Matthew 5:43-45)
"...don't criticise people...you will be judged by the way you criticise others, and the measure you give will be the measure you receive..." (Matthew 7:1-2)
"...treat other people exactly as you would be treated by them--this is the essence of all true religion..." (Matthew 7:12)
"...I desire mercy and not sacrifice. In any case, I did not come to invite the righteous, but the sinners..." (Matthew 9:10-13)
"...you are so busy holding onto the traditions of men that you let go the commandment of God!" (Mark 7:6-8)
"...go and sell everything you have, give the money away to the poor--you will have riches in heaven..." (Mark 10:21)
"...many who are first now, will then be last, and the last now, will then be first..." (Mark 10:29-31)
"...whoever among you wants to be great must become the servant of you all..." (Mark 10:41-45)
"...it is not the healthy who need the doctor, but those who are ill..." (Luke 5:31-32)
"...you are to love your enemies, and do good without hope of return..." (Luke 6:32-35)
"...you must be merciful, as your Father in heaven is merciful..." (Luke 6:36)
"...don't judge other people...don't condemn...make allowances for others...give." (Luke 6:37-38)

Answer 4

Greetings,
I believe when Jesus said to give to the poor He also meant those poor of spirit. Those who are not holding a job surely qualify as poor in spirit and were they to receive a boost in their mental state by some one not judging them but actually helping them whether financially or with a meal or a warm place it would be a great help in their viewpoint and possibly restore some of their confidence and get them moving back into the societal mainstream. Try it sometime without expecting any return or outcome from your act of following Jesus' example,afterall He had no place to rest His head either and look how He turned out.

a work in progress

Answer 5

Don't remember where it is in the Book of Exodus, but one of the commandments from The LORD was "If a man will not work, then neither let him eat." Let's look at that one: Did it say if a man cannot work? No. Did it say if a man cannot find work? No. It said if a man WILL NOT WORK, which means he/she has made a conscious decision to sit on his/her lazy @$$ and do nothing. I'm all for caring for the elderly and disabled, and I'm all for helping people who are trying to work but can't find jobs (give them money to live on and training so they'll be qualified for the jobs out there), but as to the crowd that stays home watching Jerry Springer all day and waddling down to the Welfare office once a month to say "Gimme my check" I say give them a boot in the @$$ instead.

Answer 6

You do not understand the poor very well. Obviously you have had little contact with the ghetto. No one who lives in the ghetto likes it---white people have the misconception that black and Hispanic people living in the ghettos are all lazy and good-for-nothing criminals ripping off the government. Just how good-for-nothing are you? Are you doing anything to relieve the suffering of the poor? If not, then are are less than they because you are a hypocrit. Jesus hated a hypocrit more than he hated a sinner. And do not belittle Christ by suggesting that he would deliberately demean himself as a man and as God.

Answer 7

You have to be careful about judging these things. I have known of cases where people appeared to be sluggards, yet later they were found to have really something wrong with them. It is better to feed people and let God be the judge.

Answer 8

It says in the Old Testament that the man who won't work should not eat so I don't believe that we are to give to the lazy . Jesus would not have been on welfare as He depended on God to provide for His every need.

Answer 9

If you give a man a fish, he eats for a day. If you teach him to fish, he eats for a lifetime. But it sure is hard to wait for that first bite while you are starving. I think a combination of giving material things, and teaching a person to be self sufficient is appropriate.

Answer 10

most likely NOT. giving to the poor means giving to those who can't find a job because there aren't any around or whatever. BUT the lazy fat popcorn eating, stomach scratching, burping hogs, corona drinking slobs. NO we don't give them money.

so to answer your question ABSOLUTELY NOT TO THEM.

Answer 11

Its not always like that. Some ppl have their past held against them X con who is still judged when he has already paid the price. Ater two years I say forget it but ppl dont...i know someone who wants to work abut most wont hire him..