Undeserving poor? Just a secular idea?

[Sheeniac]

All,

I’ve always had a strong belief that the distinction that used to be made about the deserving vs the undeserving poor was a good method to help guide one’s charity. Now I wonder if this is too secular of a view.

We could quibble about what makes someone deserving or undeserving, but that’s not really my question. For the sake of discussion, let’s assume an adult with no dependents who refuses to work due to laziness or what have you, but uses many means to maintain a lifestyle. These means can be unethical, but I am not talking outright crime.

Do we, as Catholics, have any responsibility to help this person so that they don’t starve?

Maybe I’m trying to make things too simplistic, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my charitable dollar, and the best way to use it. No giving situation is perfect - how far do we go to ensure that our money is put to the best use?

 

[trogiah]

All,

I’ve always had a strong belief that the distinction that used to be made about the deserving vs the undeserving poor was a good method to help guide one’s charity. Now I wonder if this is too secular of a view.

We could quibble about what makes someone deserving or undeserving, but that’s not really my question. For the sake of discussion, let’s assume an adult with no dependents who refuses to work due to laziness or what have you, but uses many means to maintain a lifestyle. These means can be unethical, but I am not talking outright crime.

Do we, as Catholics, have any responsibility to help this person so that they don’t starve?

Maybe I’m trying to make things too simplistic, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my charitable dollar, and the best way to use it. No giving situation is perfect - how far do we go to ensure that our money is put to the best use?

I feel quite certain that the right action for any follower of Jesus, in the face of someone with genuine physical hunger, would be to share food with them. Without any regard for why they weren’t able to feed themself.

I don’t believe a follower of Jesus has any responsibility to make sure another person has gas for their car, a color TV, a cell phone, “spending money” or any of the other created “needs” that abound in our society

Jim

 

[blessedtoo]

All,

I’ve always had a strong belief that the distinction that used to be made about the deserving vs the undeserving poor was a good method to help guide one’s charity. Now I wonder if this is too secular of a view.

We could quibble about what makes someone deserving or undeserving, but that’s not really my question. For the sake of discussion, let’s assume an adult with no dependents who refuses to work due to laziness or what have you, but uses many means to maintain a lifestyle. These means can be unethical, but I am not talking outright crime.

Do we, as Catholics, have any responsibility to help this person so that they don’t starve?

Maybe I’m trying to make things too simplistic, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my charitable dollar, and the best way to use it. No giving situation is perfect - how far do we go to ensure that our money is put to the best use?

Folks who are obviously struggling to make ends meet by working hard are first on my list. Every Christmas, I “adopt” a family through Catholic Charities. These folks are usually hard working but down on their luck. They are not homeless or drug addicted. They are doing their best to improve their lives and the lives of their children.

I feel strongly that giving money or food to people who live on the street is not charity, but enabling. Everytime a homeless person is given money on the street, it keeps him from seeking help from a charitable organization that is equipped to minister to all his needs. Giving someone a blanket encourages them to stay on the street. Giving them directions to the local shelter prompts them to seek assistance.

Christian charitable organizations will minister to the needs of the whole person, not just the rumble in the tummy or the booze withdrawl symptons. IMO, it is not charity to enable folks to continue a life of desperation on the street. Better to steer them in the direction of those who can truly meet their needs.

 

[goofyjim]

I don’t give to any organized charity. I give to those around me who I see in need. Charity begins at home and goes from there. I can rest assured how it is being used when I give to my friends in need first.

 

[brigid12]

According to Fr. Benedict Groeschel, he gives money (in NY City!) to whomever without making sure what they will use it for. According to him that’s God’s job and his job is charity to whomever expresses need. Jesus and none of the NT writers make that distinction. Yes, I do believe the distinction of deserving vs undeserving is a secular belief (or one made by those who want to follow the letter without conversion of heart).

 

[Mirdath]

Yes, I do believe the distinction of deserving vs undeserving is a secular belief (or one made by those who want to follow the letter without conversion of heart).

I would say that that makes it un-Christian or opposed to true Christian values, not secular specifically. Secular and Christian values can coincide – I’m sure both of us hold that charity is good, theft is bad, and so on – and Christians can act on less than Christlike principles. They just aren’t very good Christians if they do so.

 

[Swan]

According to Fr. Benedict Groeschel, he gives money (in NY City!) to whomever without making sure what they will use it for. According to him that’s God’s job and his job is charity to whomever expresses need. Jesus and none of the NT writers make that distinction. Yes, I do believe the distinction of deserving vs undeserving is a secular belief (or one made by those who want to follow the letter without conversion of heart).

I do this as well. I live in Los Angeles and we pretty much live in our cars out here (not so much walking along the sidewalk so fewer chances to see the homeless). But I’ve rolled down my car window and handed out money plenty of times. I often give to folks who don’t aks, one that I can see just by looking at them that they are having a hard time - I just walk up and hand them cash (not a lot, but a few bucks). If I have leftovers, I give food too. And 99.9% of the time people look surprised, smile and say “God bless you.” It’s good enough for me.

 

[Ghoti]

It says in the Gospels, “Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.” (Mt 5:42) There’s also Jesus’ story about the lambs and the goats (25:31-46).

There was a standup comedian on “Last Comic Standing” whose opening joke was “I always give money to panhandlers, because it might be Jesus undercover.”

It’s not really my place to decide whether or not a beggar “deserves” a handout, or God might start deciding whether or not I “deserve” forgiveness.

Of course, I generally don’t give money to anyone who dresses better than I do, or who carries a sign that says “Need money for pot.”

 

[Hastrman]

I would actually argue that “deserving poor” is the secular or at least non-Christian idea. Pagans and secularists (and to some extent Jews) suffer from the delusion that there is such a thing as a “deserving person”. Christians, and also Mahayana Buddhists (“all are alike worthy to receive the message of salvation,” it teaches, “even the wicked”) hold that human dignity, as creatures of God for Christians and as possessors of Buddha-nature for Buddhists, is inalienable.

As Chesterton put it in Heretics (he was discussing the idea of Romance, in the literary sense, but it applies here too):

The whole secret…lies in the Christian humility, however imperfectly fulfilled. For with the removal of all question of merit or payment, the soul is suddenly released…If we ask a sane man how much he merits, his mind shrinks instinctively and instantaneously. It is doubtful whether he merits six feet of earth.

In this instance, the question is not whether an individual deserves anything. Ultimately we all deserve death and damnation. But our dignity as creatures of God remains undiminished, and it is your duty to that that commands charity.

 

[Sheeniac]

This thread is giving me a lot to think about. Thanks to everyone who has replied! Something I had read by Fr. Groeschel is actually what sparked my thinking.

But from another perspective, are we not called to be good stewards? I mean… if I give money to ‘anyone’ (so to speak), are there not those who may need it more around the next corner. Is there a way to balance one’s own limited resources for giving that is more Christian than secular?

I will admit that last year I was in Manhattan, walked past a guy panhandling (very non-aggressively) who asked for money to buy vodka. It took me by surprise, made me stop and laugh, and I gave him a couple of bucks. My thought was that he may not have wanted it for liquor, but was looking for something to catch someone’s attention. He looked down and out, but not like a drunkard.

 

[leonie]

I think that the key to giving money to the poor is not determining if they deserve it, but if it will trully help them. After all, none of us really deserve the gifts that God has given us.

I have a difficult sister who might fall into this category. For example, once she was on unemployment benefits. She stayed on it as long as she could without looking for a job until the week after she stopped receiving benefits.

In this case, the benefits encouraged sloth and didn’t help her.

Her husband (also, a difficult case) went without a job for several months until he was arrested on a Friday for nonpayment of child support. He had a job that Monday.

There are some that need other kinds of help than a direct handout. In the case of my sister and her husband, giving a direct handout (and not holding to their obligations) actually put them in a worse position.

At the same time, my sister and husband have lots of problems that aren’t obvious to others. For her, anxiety, lack of certain social skills, a learning disability that has led to a low level of education are problems. For him, adult ADD, a reading disability, lack of high school diploma.

All things that most of us don’t have to deal with.

Giving to others is not a matter of deciding who deserves it, but if it will really help them. Or, deciding what form we should give help to make an impact.

For this reason, I generally don’t give to panhandlers because I don’t know if I am really helping them. But, I will give to a soup kitchen because I know that they will give them something they really need–nutritious food.

 

[jmcrae]

What I do is I give to Catholic organizations, or organizations that Catholics can support, and let them do the hands on giving. They have the ability to provide meals, shelter, job training, dream/hope-building, and all the other things necessary for human life; not mere survival.

One thing I am learning this Lent is that there are two kinds of charity. In the classroom we are representing them with bandaids and trees. A “bandaid” is when you give someone $5.00, or give them a sandwich and a juice box. A “tree” is when you give someone job training. The poor, and especially the destitute, need both.

The person in the OP’s first example has been receiving aid, but it has probably all been of the “bandaid” kind - he has probably not received any “trees” - things that improve his environment and give him the ability to look after himself.

In his case, job training, interpersonal skills, and work ethic are the things he’s lacking, and these are what he needs to receive in order to succeed. This is a long-term project, however, and requires a great deal of commitment on the part of those who would help him. It’s not as easy as dropping a bag of groceries on his front step, or paying his rent for him.

 

[Norseman82]

Prudence and common sense dictates that every dollar given to someone who will waste it on booze or drugs is a dollar that is taken away from someone who is genuinely hungry. If someone is hungry and approaches me on the street, I will not give cash, but I will give a gift certificate or buy them some food.

Additionally, I read in the Didache:

Let your alms perspire in your hands, unitl you know to whom you are giving.

(Didache 1,1 - Jurgens “The Faith of the Early Fathers”).

 

[vern_humphrey]

This thread is giving me a lot to think about. Thanks to everyone who has replied! Something I had read by Fr. Groeschel is actually what sparked my thinking.

But from another perspective, are we not called to be good stewards? I mean… if I give money to ‘anyone’ (so to speak), are there not those who may need it more around the next corner. Is there a way to balance one’s own limited resources for giving that is more Christian than secular?

Saint Paul discusses this problem several times – most notably in Chapter 5, 1st Timothy.

Essentially, he says those who can support themselves must support themselves. Those who cannot must be supported by their relatives.

He explains how “excessive charity” – allowing those who can work to live on the labor of others – hurts the receiver (by enabling him or her to continue that lifestyle) and also hurts the real poor – by syphoning off resources that could be devoted to them.

I will admit that last year I was in Manhattan, walked past a guy panhandling (very non-aggressively) who asked for money to buy vodka. It took me by surprise, made me stop and laugh, and I gave him a couple of bucks. My thought was that he may not have wanted it for liquor, but was looking for something to catch someone’s attention. He looked down and out, but not like a drunkard.

Former Surgeon General Everett Koop, on the Ethics in America series said he would give money to such a person, even knowing that he intended to use it for alcohol – because that’s really all you can do for them.

Of course, he was talking about a person beyond “treatment” whose only hope was to escape his condition for a few hours by drinking.