Posted on 12/03/2012 6:52:06 AM PST by rightwingintelligentsia
The shoe-shoeless situation of this homeless guy is a great metaphor for Johnson’s-et-al War on Poverty.
Our church associate pastor has a daughter living in college in Austin. She is stopped regularly by the street people. She carries a pair or two of new socks and oranges which she hands out the window at stop lights, etc..
Sensible idea. Scurvy happens to those with poor diets.
Sadly, “have them stolen” probably is higher on that list. Probably 50/50 with sell them for booze, perhaps even greater. This man likely is mentally ill, so another good category is “leave them in an alley and wander off barefooted.”
Let’s cut out the middleman and their fake stories BS and just start handing out 4oz.mini containers of Jack Daniels. Make a bum/panhandler really happy with some Holiday cheer.
This is exactly why the left likes the gov’t doing “charity”.
When private charities or individuals are involved, they scrutinize the recipients. The left doesn’t like this, because people will “judge” whether the recipients are deserving or not based on their own, usually Christian, value system.
I see a lot of posts here assuming this guy sold his shoes for booze. While I agree the homeless are not the saints that the Libs portray them to be, and that there are grifters out there, I think posters are jumping to the wrong conclusions. Not every homeless person is out looking to sell everything for booze and drugs. Unless they are mentally ill, most are not going to wander around shoeless in the cold to get booze. This man likely either had them stolen or is mentally ill and left them somewhere. Situations like this point out the frustrating, heartbreaking problem of homelessness. Once you separate out the grifters and people who are going to use what you give them to buy booze or drugs, you have a very vulnerable population who simply cannot put together what it takes to live a basic life — like shelter and clothing. You have men like this literally walking around with no shoes. The answer is not not more money but on the other hand, these people are not all con artists and drunks.
I just tell them I already gave to them, I pay taxes.
Jesus Christ didn’t have a home.
At least Mr. Bojangles would do a dance for drinks and tips. These modern bums want money for nothing. Let them start auditioning with mini street ‘talent’ shows for some cash. No funnies = no money’s.
“african American”... You mean a black guy?
Jesus Christ, until he began moving around with his small group of disciples, lived as an honest hobo, an itinerant carpenter.
You needed a cabinet built? Hey that hobo Yeshua just built me the best cabinet I just saw! It was absolutely divine! And the price was very reasonable!
Hobo > Tramp > Bum.
Jesus wasn’t a wino.
Some get carted to jail for vagrancy, though that’s less common today. Some might appreciate being steered to a church. It takes all sorts to make an underworld.
And their chicks for free.
Grace comes from the Greek word CHARIS. It means giving something without any expectation of return.
The arrogant foolishly believe that by giving something to somebody with an expectation of how that gift will be used and will be reciprocated by good favor.
Anticipating how charity is used or how grace is applied is not grace, but a work without payment, expecting something due in return.
Those who perform good to God and expect His grace in return simply make Him a debtor and do not understand the meaning of grace.
Not always. Having hard-core IV drug users (dilaudid) and hard-core alkies in the family... Well, sometimes it only takes one junkie.
Hard to believe that in such a case the Department of Humanistic Services”
...they probably did. The fund was to try and save the house they lived in. One of the girls was 20 and left college to care for her sisters who were all under 18.
But he saved a lot of winos when respectable folks were going to hell.
It’s all a matter of perspective, and by no means should we fall into the liberal, contrarian trap of assuming that to be well off means you’re something particularly bad.
And some people are not gregarious and come from families where ugly rivalries reigned. Now that one is needy (simple unemployment, no substance habit) it’s now time for the other one to get their revenge by refusing to provide a place for the needy one.
Your second sentence doesn’t parse.
And none of this means that a giver should not give with discernment and wisdom when possible. The reason church charity works better than government welfare is that the church charity DOES have a face that can watch the result, not just a blind hand.
Rather than give money, I used to always buy someone panhandling a meal and bring it out to them. More than once I was cussed out and had the food thrown back in my face. Food wasn’t want they wanted. I don’t do it as often anymore.
Who said Jesus was an itinerant carpenter? As the eldest son, he probably took care of his mother at their family shop. The shop was probably taken over by another family member when Jesus began his ministry.
Bottom line is that we are generous and love to give but detest being taken for as chumps to be scammed. This is where the spirit of discernment is really needed.
We make jokes on this thread but being generous these days comes with heightened awareness of the deceptions out there.
Asking them in advance whether they’d care for something directly to eat would seem wise. If cussed at that point, no need to go further.
The Bible doesn’t spell it out, but it seems likely given the circumstances and some “sanctified imagination.” Once he began to move around and preach, he had to get his income from something, and they didn’t have a Bank of Galilee with ATM cards for the home shop to keep him funded at that time. Paul, following in the footsteps of his Master, made tents for a living as he went about, so perhaps Jesus also kept himself up honorably doing the thing that he did best. (And if he had no hammer handy, you’d see something that looked like kung fu driving the nails in with karate chops... I don’t know whether I’m kidding or not.) Being God he could of course also do all sorts of things like muster up a fish with a denarius any time he wanted. Much is not known to us moderns. But
That last But shouldn’t be there... except perhaps
But God, who was rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ Jesus...
I mean, at least during the phase where he had left the home shop and wasn’t yet living on some share of whatever the disciples got, minus what Judas filched from that purse of course. How the purse was filled isn’t specified in the bible and it could have been a combination of donations and odd jobs.
The arrogant foolishly believe gracious charity is giving something with an expectation of its use.
Unmerited grace has no expectations upon the recipient.
How can we still have homeless people? We have allocated billions of dollars of hard-earned taxpayer money to help the needy. It’s because they serve a purpose. They tug on our heart strings and make otherwise rational people think that it’s OK to take money from others and give to people who want that money. We’ve had 4 years of “Higher Calling” Obama. Do you think that in that time he could have launched a national end homelessness campaign? Of course he could have! We think they emptied out the institutions because it was too expensive. Nope. They’re part of the big con. They’re scenery....the “Stall”. If you want to understand how the Democrat leaders operate, look up pickpocket teams on the Internet.
He doesn't miss a single thing.
Our church has a food pantry and gives food away every Thursday but you are only allowed to get it every other Thursday they lessen the crowd that way. The only questions asked are, your name and how many in your family. No IDs are checked and nobody need establish "need" but it's implied that you have a need, as opposed to a "want".
The parking lot tells a story, I drive by there sometimes on Thursday and notice the newer and expensive cars. It doesn't stop me from giving, that's the part I answer for, if somebody is cheating, that's the part they will answer for.
Like I said, He doesn't miss a thing.
That Fruit Tail Bat colony in Austin is amazing, isn't it?
I generally concur.
The worldly system attempts a counterfeit substitute for grace and charity by entitlements and welfare programs.
In return, we have built a class of welfare recipients, who confuse their welfare income as a wage, instead of a gift.
When they want more, they seek those who give as though they are indebted to give more.
The giver is wise to give with constructive likelihood figured into his or her means, and yes, the credibility of promises if any made by the asker should be taken into account. Would you really deem it virtuous to shovel money blindly to a druggie or alkie if other means of helping were available that were less prone to abuse? This is not arrogance; it’s wisdom.
Not even God's "saving grace" is sans expectation. It may be very forgiving of errors along the way, but it ultimately demands the recipient end up in a very definite place.
I could easily forgive an ignorant Democrat, but too many of them are all too aware of the racket. They do not see the needy masses as opportunities for helping hands to do good, but as cynically owned puppets. Those buses that go out on Election Day to pack the polls... where are they the rest of the year, do they bring the homeless and hungry to shelters? I didn’t think so!
“The shoeless man is likely chemically dependent, mentally ill or both and his actions in no way diminish the selfless act of kindness done by that police officer.”
Here here! One time I gave to a homeless person as he approached my car. As he walked away I said out loud that he would probably by alcohol with it. My Girlfriend then said. That doesn’t matter. You gave it to him in the for the right reason and that reflects on you. If he uses it for alcohol he has to answer for that when he meets his maker.
Since then I remind myself of that sage advice and I freely give when I think its appropriate. It no longer bothers me.
“It doesn’t stop me from giving, that’s the part I answer for, if somebody is cheating, that’s the part they will answer for.
Like I said, He doesn’t miss a thing. “
Well said FRiend
even your system doesn’t work if you think it through.
take random homeless drug or alchohol abuser, he spends a few hours panhandling ... and now has enough money for some food....
he is getting hungry ... but he is also starting to need his next fix...
along you come and give him a free meal!
now he is free to spend his money on that crack he has been jonesing for!
There is almost no way to help anyone without simultaniously inabling the bad behavior that probably got them to that position in the first place.
God certainly blesses you for what you mean based on what you know, even if whom you gave it to misuses it. But if you know better, God expects you to mean better too.
I live in a blue collar/business casual neighborhood where we know our neighbors and, mostly, try not to bug each other without good cause. One of those neighbors is a homeless guy I first met while rousting him out of a small space behind a new neighbor's garage (neighbor was Japanese and new to the idea). Over the years the homeless guy has become part of the neighborhood, he sees himself as part of the neighborhood and acts accordingly. He's still broke but seldom actually homeless since someone or another usually has a dry place for him, sometimes a spare bedroom, sometimes just converted storage space, he's found peoples keys (mine one time) and tracked down the owner, and he's helped (gratis) in yard cleanups, lost pets, and move outs. For all intents and purposes he has been a pretty good neighbor for about fifteen years.
That’s why charity is an art, and why churches do it so well. It helps while also appealing to the better angels of those who became needy due to some enslaving habit.
I’d say if you pity the homeless, do give... but do it to churches in that ministry.
Sounds like a tramp, a step above bum.
I’ve noted a couple of fairly young guys who frequent a nice street corner near a local college, he first time one of them came up to my car I thought what a bum he must be, hale enough to work but begging instead. His line was selling some truly not so very good artwork done on 6X 6 board, which I declined. Second time I saw them i realized they were serious about wanting to provide something for the four bucks they asked; neither one would just take $4.00 for nothing.
I live in a blue collar/business casual neighborhood where we know our neighbors and, mostly, try not to bug each other without good cause. One of those neighbors is a homeless guy I first met while rousting him out of a small space behind a new neighbor’s garage (neighbor was Japanese and new to the idea). Over the years the homeless guy has become part of the neighborhood, he sees himself as part of the neighborhood and acts accordingly. He’s still broke but seldom actually homeless since someone or another usually has a dry place for him, sometimes a spare bedroom, sometimes just converted storage space, he’s found peoples keys (mine one time) and tracked down the owner, and he’s helped (gratis) in yard cleanups, lost pets, and move outs. For all intents and purposes he has been a pretty good neighbor for about fifteen years.
______________________________
Before entitlments there were always people avaible for small jobs in return for housing.
The man who living in my great-grand’s basement in return for shoveling coal and outdoor work.
The man who lived in the back room of my grandfathers offices and business in return for helping loading and keeping the place clean and picked up.
The almost blind woman who lived in the attic bedroom and helped with hte children for small monies and a home.
I think we will go back to these times. There are plenety of people who need small jobs and a home.
while there is some truth to what your girlfriend said.
You must also consider the fact that the next drink or drug fix you enable could be that persons last. I don’t like the idea of being partially responsible for someone’s death.
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
If I am called to account for my actions to a Holy God, I would rather it be that I loved a fellow man more than my money. I give when the Spirit moves my heart to do so. If that person is cheating me, he will have to account for that, too.
They interview these people, and each one is either mentally ill, severely addicted to drugs/alcohol, or frankly someone who just plain doesn't want to work.
The kind hearted people try to get them into shelters, or charitable organizations, at least somewhere they can have a warm bed, and food. But these folks despise this, because these organizations always have "rules" such as no drugs or alcohol.
In the tunnel, they can enjoy their booze/drugs, and nobody hassles them. A lot of them get government checks, and live underground most of the time, only surfacing to get the $.
Fascinating documentary. Some people have little shanties, with electricity/ and heaters.
In the past these people would be involuntarily committed to a stat hospital but in 1966 during LBJ’s rein it was decided this to be too expensive. At that point State Hospitals began to close and did so through Carter and Reagan.
If those hospitals were still open fewer people would be on the street today.
And anyone posting yesterday:
“I’ll bet he sells `em for `firewater’”
would have been called a Scrooge.
Wearing shoes hurts his `curb appeal.’
I tried that with a homeless woman, and she replied "No thanks, I don't eat on Tuesdays, that's my drinking day. I'll take money!".
I couldn’t agree more.
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