Moral Question- Requests for assistance

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Qoeleth

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I have a question. I am in a situation where there are often poor, homeless and disadvantaged people asking me for assistance- money, time, knocking on the door in the middle of the night, etc., etc. This is becoming very difficult.

Jesus says clearly “Give to anyone who asks”. “If anyone would have you go one mile, go two.”

I know the old familiar reasons for not helping people-
  1. if you help them in the short term, you are not really helping them in the long term;
  2. God also wants us to take care of ourselves.
  3. that Jesus direction on charity are ‘evangelical counsels’ but not commands.
But these don’t seem to wash against the reality of the situation, and the actual words of the Gospel. Is it the Christian thing to continue to give till you literally have nothing left? If we follow the Gospel, are we not bound to “give to everyone who asks”?

It is a difficult moral dilemna. Or perhaps the only dilemna is between the wisdom of this world, and the ‘foolishness’ of the Gospel…
 
From what I gather, everything we have has been given to us by God and that we are to give and not count the cost. I always thought the teaching was if someone comes to you and asks for the shirt off your back then you should give it to them; however, if they don’t come to you, but you still want to help, then you are only required to give what you can spare.

I don’t know if this makes sense but I think if a homeless person comes up to you and asks for everything then you should view it as Christ coming up to you and asking for everything.

I would ask your priest.
 
In the real everyday world, it is saver and more helpful to give them directions to the nearest shelter. Or if you do want to help, keep a box of breakfast bars handy and hand them a couple with a bottle of water and a card for the nearest food pantry or homeless shelter. Giving them money is not a good idea.
 
I’m reading Fr Dubay’s Happy Are You Poor. I highly recommend as a foundation for thinking about the concerns OP raises.
 
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