Charity: What Do We Owe to the Less Fortunate?

• "But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." Luke 14:13
• "When Jesus heard this, he said to him, You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Luke 18:22

I'm not sure when the Bible was written, but a long time ago. And in the Bible, at least the New Testament, there are many passages about the obligation of the righteous toward the poor. Jesus Christ has been quoted as saying we should make ourselves poor helping the poor, although there were no videotapes in those days so exactly what he said and the context in which he said it is still open to interpretation.

Even in the Bible the concept that giving to the poor may "enable" them to continue to be dependent is visible:

2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 New International Version (NIV):  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. 12 Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat.

A woman I met recently said she objected to any sort of welfare because, "You learn quickly enough not to feed stray dogs. They just follow you home."  So there you have it--charity is enabling the feckless, that's the meme. Nice dodge, if you can convince yourself these "needy" are really just stray dogs. 

Much of the Christian commentary dwells on the attitude toward the poor--we should love the poor beggar: That's what the poor beggar really needs: love.  The poor beggar, I suspect would beg to disagree. I suspect he might say he'd prefer money to love. But I have no data.

A friend has a rule: when you are confronted by a beggar on the street, give him something--it may not help him but it makes you feel better, and it eliminates that uncomfortable moment for you. His name is Tommy, so all his friends call it "Tommy's Rule."  He carries change in his pockets for just that purpose.  I've employed this tactic and it does work for me.

Of course Tommy's Rule is not public policy and solves no problems except for the one it is intended to solve--it gets you down the street in psychic comfort.

Some people react to street beggars with anger.  They are worthless scum, not even trying, slackers, and they deserve their misery.

This is a tactic, like Tommy's Rule, which, I suspect, has emerged to solve the same problem--it makes you feel better if you can replace pity with anger. And it addresses the underlying problem of "there but for the grace of God go I."  One thing that makes you feel bad about that beggar is you think, "that might be me." But if you say, "that could  never be me, because I work hard," then you don't feel badly. Of course, you are delusional, in that thinking.

Ronald Reagan solved this crisis of conscience in his wonderful, facile way, by saying, "There will always be poor." And he shrugged.  And from that, flowed the idea that since there will always be poor, no matter what we do, there is no sense in trying to help the poor, because, well, no matter what you do to help, they will still be there, poor. What a liberating thought! No "liberal guilt." 

And where did that phrase come from? "Liberal guilt"  is rich man's guilt. Joe Sixpack, who drives a truck and is not rich, does not feel liberal guilt. He feels no guilt because he is not rich. He feels poor. He resents his place on the economic scale and he burns for the day when he will be rich.  Of course, he is rich compared to the street beggar, but he will deny that, too. Ask Joe and he'll tell you that street beggar goes home to a palace, having made more on the street begging than he would at an honest job. It's the welfare queen theory: These street beggars are manipulating us, trying to prey on our sense of pity. 

So, this line of reasoning goes: Have no pity. Then you don't have to spend time and money dreaming up programs to spend tax payer money helping people who are not just undeserving but who are scamming the rest of us.

Ah, that works even better than the tactic of keeping spare change in your pocket.