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Sixtus
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Wherever any brother or sister of humanity is in any kind of need and we are in a position to help, there is the deserving poor.
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Hellisreal
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I agree with you yet again Sixtus.Wherever any brother or sister of humanity is in any kind of need and we are in a position to help, there is the deserving poor.
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vern_humphrey
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Review the title of the thread: āWho are the deserving poor?āWherever any brother or sister of humanity is in any kind of need and we are in a position to help, there is the deserving poor.
Suppose the brother or sister of humanity is a drug addict and is in need of another fix? Suppose the brother or sister of humanity is an alcoholic who drinks and drives and needs another drink?
Suppose the brother or sister of humanity simply chooses to live on charity, rather than work?
Saint Paul warned us that excessive charity can lead people into accepting it as an economic strategy. Here in American we have seen that happen, and seen them passing that strategy on to their children and grandchildren.
(2 Thessalonians, 3,10.)
With the best will in the world we have done great damage to the poor.
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whatevergirl
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I donāt think sixtus is implying that we should offer drugs to drug addicts.
These threads get funny after a while.
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vern_humphrey
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Thatās the problem with substituting platitudes for policy.I donāt think sixtus is implying that we should offer drugs to drug addicts.
These threads get funny after a while.
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whatevergirl
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No, actually thatās the problem when one assumes too much.
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vern_humphrey
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Assumes what? Has someone been assuming around here again? Show me the amadan and Iāll straighten him out right now.
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whatevergirl
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lolāyeah, it happens quite often in these threads, have you noticed?Assumes what? Has someone been assuming around here again? Show me the amadan and Iāll straighten him out right now.
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Trader
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If you really care about the poor, which is the better housing program, Chicago Housing Authorityās Cabrini Green project that put 20,000 poor on the āreservationā or the private charity Habitat for Humanity?
Cabrini Green was named after a saint. It is paid for from tax revenues. Residents get a place to live but never had a chance for home ownership or to pass on savings to their children.
Habitat for Humanity is a voluntary program, requires recipients to do physical labor, if able, make mortgage payments, keep their credit clear and they get to actually own the home they live in.
CHA requires virtually nothing of the poor, Habitat for Humanity requires a lot. Which better exemplifies Christian values?
Cabrini Green was named after a saint. It is paid for from tax revenues. Residents get a place to live but never had a chance for home ownership or to pass on savings to their children.
Habitat for Humanity is a voluntary program, requires recipients to do physical labor, if able, make mortgage payments, keep their credit clear and they get to actually own the home they live in.
CHA requires virtually nothing of the poor, Habitat for Humanity requires a lot. Which better exemplifies Christian values?
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Hellisreal
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Or maybe the problem could be thinking that we donāt have an opportunity to witness Christ to others no matter how we may percieve them to be.
I am not arguing so much as saying that I am happy to serve others if I am able and I can.
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whatevergirl
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ā¦agreed. I think people need to take responsibility for their livesā¦if God has given them an able body to take care of themselves and familyā¦but, I do think that as Disciples of Christā¦we need to be mindful that itās not our job to over-analyzeā¦we should give when someone is true need.
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scarlet405
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Wherever any brother or sister of humanity is in any kind of need and we are in a position to help, there is the deserving poor.
I could not agree more, that is what I have been trying to say. We are told to āLove one anotherā, and to āTreat your neighbor as yourselfā. In the āold daysā, you know āpioneer daysā, this was unheard of. You had poor people, but there were family, friends the community to step in and help. I believe that this is the plan God has for us. We each help in our own way, in a capacity that we are good at and comfortable with. Maybe I think too simply, but it seems to me that this is the best way to do things.
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Amolibri
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Wow, Vernā¦seems like you havenāt been paying attention to āmadison avenueā . Our āeconomic systemā is based on people buying, buying, buying, and going into debt, and the media is complicit in that 100%. Watch some credit cards ads!
It goes deeper than just teaching economicsā¦this stuff is subliminalā¦created by the advertising āgeniusesā of our time. :hypno: Take a look. You think perhaps AMEX or any bank is interested in people NOT going into debt? If you are a teacherā¦or aspire to be one, I challenge you. I have been there.
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Hellisreal
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Bye everyone, itās been a blast. I guess the drug addicts and over extended credit card abusers are the topic now.
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emily47017
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habitat is awesome! i have a friend who appears to have won the habitat for humanity lotto: she got a building site on the top of a hill on bainbridge island with a gorgeous mountain view.
i have another dear friend, though: fifteen years ago she was a divorced (against her wishes) mother of three, saddled with the archetypal abusive/deadbeat/absentee dad, full-time worker and full-time student at the university of washington school of social work.
she was too poor to qualify for habitat. can you imagine?!
so she got a rental subsidy from the state instead. when the dad finally got a job, the state garnished his wages to get their money back.
two years ago, due to the generosity of some very well-off friends, she was able to buy her first house.thereās a need for both. if folks can get a habitat house, thatās a blessing and great legacy for their kids. if they canāt, then there need to be other options.
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IanBoyd57
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Strange how that works, what with Christian divorce rates being higher than atheists.Solid Christian marriages are remarkable for what they can accomplish in terms of raising children, almost as if a loving God designed it that way. Oh wait, He did design it that way.
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vern_humphrey
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No ā we have and take advantage of many opportunities to witness for Christ without sinking into platitudes and washing our hands of the harm we do with ill-conceived āprograms.ā
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vern_humphrey
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Been where? In debt?Wow, Vernā¦seems like you havenāt been paying attention to āmadison avenueā . Our āeconomic systemā is based on people buying, buying, buying, and going into debt, and the media is complicit in that 100%. Watch some credit cards ads!
If you are a teacherā¦or aspire to be one, I challenge you. I have been there.
No, long ago I started saving and established a policy of finding out what my monthly payment would be for a big-ticket purchase, and then I would put that amount aside every month until I had enough to buy for cash.
The only thing Iāve ever bought on credit was a house ā and paid off the mortgage ahead of time and I sold it for a nice profit.
As for Madison Avenue ā if we educated our people properly, they wouldnāt be fooled by slick commerticial.
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valient_Lucy
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Definitely children.
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Sheeniac
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Are they not poor too?
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