Scriptures on helping the poor

Galatians 6:10

• Members of the local church should take first priority, members of the global church second, and those outside the church third.

Titus 3:14

• Urgent needs should take priority over commonplace needs. (Possible example could be a family that is on the street versus a single male who can't pay his health insurance bill.)

2 Thessalonians 3:6-12 (and 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12)

• Unless they're incapable of working, beneficiary should provide proof of current employment before receiving gifts. If not currently employed, beneficiary should provide useful service in return to the church or its members; should be valuable service that is comparable to gift given.

2 Corinthians 8:13-15

• There should be fairness among recipients according to basic livelihood needs.

Matthew 6:2-4

• Giving should be discreet

Proverbs 14:21

• Giving should be generous (according to basic livelihood needs)

Matthew 7:7-11

• Beneficiaries should request assistance on their own before it is given.

1 Timothy 6:8

• Only basic livelihood needs should be provided for: food, clothing, temporary/shared housing.
• What about giving cash? (My opinion no, because that could be used for things other than basic needs or could encourage love of money.)
• What about mortgage payments? (My opinion no, since it could encourage love of money. Rent payments might be different.)

Proverbs 18:9; Proverbs 19:15; Proverbs 19:24; Proverbs 20:13

• Beneficiary should be a hard worker, not lazy.

Proverbs 22:16

• Must not give to someone who is rich -- who can provide for his own needs, but does not.

What are some other scriptures to add to the list?

Little decisions in the fear of God

Adeline has not been easily falling asleep, lately. She'll cry vehemently when we leave her alone for the night. Normally, we come in a few times, sing or rock her some more, and then eventually she'll go to sleep. Tonight, that didn't work.

Lisa suggested it could be that we fed her yogurt, but she didn't drink much water. Right after Lisa said this, Adeline stopped crying and fell asleep.

At this point, I was faced with a dilemma. Should we wake her up and feed her some water? Or, should we let her sleep? I didn't want her to have digestion problems from lack of liquid in her tummy, but I also didn't want to put her (and us) through any more pain of crying (waking her up will probably cause more crying). I didn't know what to do.

But, then, I was reminded of Proverbs 9:10. When I stand before God for judgment, I don't want to hang my head in shame and admit that I consciously chose to not provide for one of her needs. The right decision is to care properly for my daughter, even if she doesn't initially like it, even if it causes her to cry some more, even if it is inconvenient for me.

Christmas gift giving theology

Lisa and I have made some changes to our theology of gift giving at Christmas.

My overarching goal is for us to be satisfied in Jesus Christ alone. And, because we treasure Jesus, I want us to please him and obey him by using our money to serve him. We also want to draw Adeline (our daughter) in to seeing Jesus Christ as the only thing worth having and to learn to treasure him and serve him in the way we desire to.

For ourselves, Lisa and I are going to request everyone around us to give money to a charity (which we have yet to choose) instead of buying us gifts. We want a heavenly reward.

For Adeline, the goal is different. We still need to draw her in to knowing Jesus and loving Jesus. We want to demonstrate God's goodness (i.e. his generosity) to Adeline by giving her good gifts. Rather than giving many gifts, we intend to give her one gift that will meaningfully and generously meet a legitimate need. We are going to ask everyone else who gives her a gift to give her only one gift and that it meaningfully meet a legitimate need, and that it not be excessive. We want to bless her, as God blesses us, but we will also teach her about why her parents do not want earthly gifts at Christmas, and we hope that she eventually will also see the eternal treasure in seeking to be satisfied in Jesus Christ rather than herself or earthly things and make a similar choice of her own.