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giving to those who ask

Started by Java Bradley
September 28, 2026
10 replies
258 views
Java Bradley OP
September 28, 2026 at 1:21 PM
#1
Good morning! I have a question that's been increasingly difficult for me to answer. Jesus say: Luke 6:30 30 Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not demand it back. He also says: Luke 6:38 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.” How do you understand and apply this? Are there limits or conditions, or do we give indiscriminately? Would love some thoughts, explanations, references, etc.

Replies (10)

Java Bradley OP
September 28, 2026 at 1:31 PM
#2
Jesus also says:

Luke 12:33
33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves with purses that will not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.
and,
Luke 18:22
22 On hearing this, Jesus told him, “You still lack one thing: Sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

I have a lot of other related questions, but these four verses are hopefully a start.
Tait Doeringer
September 28, 2026 at 2:10 PM
#3
Hi Java,

Our house church has been going over the very same topics recently. Other verses and passages that are applicable are:
Matthew 5:42 "Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."
Matthew 6:19-21 "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Matthew 25:31-46 (At the final judgement, Jesus will send those to hell who did not take care of the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick or imprisoned, while those who did take care of the aforementioned groups will receive the Kingdom.)

Some takeaways I have, and rebuttals for common arguments:
1) I am obligated to give when someone asks. I may not give or be able to give them exactly what they ask for, but I am obligated to give something. For example, if I see someone with a sign asking for help by the side of the road, I can give money, food, a water bottle, a fresh pair of socks, but I cannot ignore them.
Common argument against this: "I don't want to 'enable' someone who is a drug addict or something like that"
Rebuttal: I would rather be known as over-generous than not generous. From what I can see in the scriptures, there are only consequences for not being generous, not ever for being too generous. Jesus himself healed Ten Lepers, and yet only one returned to praise God (Luke 17:11-19). He enabled nine. As I stated above, I do not believe that we can or should give everyone exactly what they ask for, so in some situations it may be wiser to give someone food or a ride to the salvation army than giving them cash. 

2) I need to lay aside treasure in heaven, so I need to give very generously to those who are in the Matthew 25 categories. If I do not live around them physically, I need to give to charities. One thing I am sure of is if I am saving up more for myself and my family here on earth than I am saving up in heaven (in $ amounts), then my heart is here in my earthly treasures. I must give more to God than I am saving for me (retirement, building wealth through assets, savings accounts etc.)
Common argument against this: "I need to be 'wise' with my finances and prepare for the future"
Rebuttal: Since when is the money in "my" account and in "my" paycheck mine? Luke 16:1-13 shows that we are stewards of God's money, who will be praised by God if we give it away and are faithful with unrighteous wealth. Luke 12:13-21 shows clearly that laying up treasure for myself is foolish.  

I have a feeling that my takeaway #2 may not be faithful enough, but that is how I live now.

Books I would recommend are "Through the Eye of a Needle" by Roger Hertzler and "Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger" by Ronald Sider.
Java Bradley OP
September 28, 2026 at 2:46 PM
#4
Thanks Tait! I really appreciate your thoughtful reply to this. A couple additional questions:
1. Are the groups of people listed in Matthew 25 brothers and sisters? Or any/all from those groups? Your thoughts about the ten lepers might be relevant to this question too, but I’m just trying to think this through. 
2. I like your references to Luke 16 and 12. How would Acts 5 weigh in to this, with Ananias and Sapphira, where Peter says: 
"Did it not belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? How could you conceive such a deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but to God!”

I look forward to considering more of your thoughts here.
Tait Doeringer
September 28, 2026 at 4:11 PM
#5
1) I think it would be very hard to discern, especially if we are talking about charities that do work overseas, who is truly a "brother and sister" and who isn't. Additionally, someone who is not a brother today may be a brother someday. I do see some great value in giving to groups that provide food and Bibles/Christian literature/in person teaching, sometimes in the same package. Personally, I give to Christian Aid Ministries, because they seem to do both physical and spiritual giving hand-in-hand. And I do think that there is a special emphasis on taking care of those in the faith as well (see point 2).
As you mentioned above, I would rather be over-generous, and frankly can't see Jesus overlooking the tragedy of a human, made in Gods image, starving, even if they are not yet following Him. Maybe I am missing something or have overlooked a passage critical to this topic. 


2) In my opinion, the reason that Ananias and Sapphira were punished is because they lied to look more generous than they really were. The early church didn't force anyone to give everything, it was voluntary giving. However, I do not think that this means that we can just keep what we have and be honest about what we are keeping.

Acts 4:32 "And all who believed were of one heart and one soul, neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common." The expectation in the Church of Acts was that all believers had everything in common. Ananias and Sapphira wanted to look like they were being completely generous, but were not willing to actually be that generous. However, we should note that the amount that they did give must have been reasonably large, big enough that they thought they could get away with not giving everything but still look like they were giving all they had made from selling the property. My point is that, compared to how many Christians act in 2026, Ananias and Sapphira were still probably very generous (though they lied to look even more generous). If I sold a house and gave only 50% away, my guess is that most professing Christians in the USA today would see that as incredibly generous (I would too). 

So even if we want to follow Ananias and Sapphira as an example (which is a very low bar, considering what happened to them) I think we still would have to give away far more than what I suspect most Christians and professing Christians do.




Michael Stoltzfus
September 30, 2026 at 2:07 AM
#6
   It makes my heart glad to see others coming to the same conclusions. When I talk with other professing Christians they often explain away these teachings by saying that a good steward prepares for known emergencies or some other excuse. But I  never had peace about that. It wasn't until I believed what Jesus said about the birds and the flowers and started acting up upon it, that I understood, this is the way! 
    As far as helping those in unfortunate situations like the homeless or someone with a drug addiction. When they ask me for money or help I have felt strongly that I have to help them simply because Jesus said give to those that ask of you. And people use that excuse that we would be enabling them. And yet I never had peace about turning somebody away, when they ask for money or help just because I understood that they might be using it for drugs or other similar things.
     One thought I have on this is when you look at Matthew 5:42 and continue reading to verse 48 It talks about the Father sending his rain and sunlight on both the just and the unjust. Recently I was thinking about this and thought, to be like the Father which is the intent of the teaching according to verse 48, be ye therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. I need to bless the just and the unjust. The just are going to use the money well to buy food or some other necessities but the unjust are going to use the money in a bad way.
    It is the Father’s desire that all would come to repentance, it’s good to remember that when you are interacting with someone who has asked for help. Use the opportunity to testify of Christ our Lord.
John Mark Jobe
September 30, 2026 at 2:26 AM
#7
Doing “unto others as you would have men do unto you”, would dictate that I don’t assume prejudicially (that is, without evidence), that anyone asking me for money is just some kind of scammer or addict or lazy man, since, were we to switch places, I would certainly not want that begging man to baselessly assume the same of myself, if he were the one able to alleviate my need to some extent. I don’t suppose any of us would desire such prejudicial treatment.
Edited Sep 30, 2026
John Mark Jobe
September 30, 2026 at 2:38 AM
#8
I would like to say an emphatic “amen!” to all that you beloved brethren have said thus far. What an encouragement!

Indeed, Christ states the golden rule in regard to “others,” with specifically all mankind in view! Not only brethren! Like our perfect Father, we rain whatever benevolence we can (in right conscience) upon the just and the unjust (i.e., “enemies”) without “leaving undone” those weightier matters to which we owe Christ-loyal obedience! (Matt. 7:12; 5:44–45; 23:23; Luke 6:27–36)

Praise be to God for the radical generosity He has first lavished on us in His Son, while we were still sinners and enemies of righteousness! (Rom. 5:6–10; Eph. 2:4–7)

Maria Fletcher
September 30, 2026 at 2:07 PM
#9
I was very blessed by what you gentleman shared here on giving as Jesus commanded. I've also struggled with these verses about being generous. Let me give you an example: I find myself driving on a street corner and a homeless has a sign for help...I'm at the stop sign about 5 or 6 cars behind the intersection and far from the man....I want to give them something but find myself too far away and the light just turned green and here I am driving away from the man. It torments me sometimes, I wonder if I should turn back my car and redue the intersection just to get closer to the person and bless them with something. Or other times I find myself having no cash and no food and have nothing to give them...I've since made up my mind to keep some cash always in my purse exactly for this circumstance. It seems like a silly thing, but for me personally it's disturbing to drive past a homeless asking for help without actually helping them. 
Maria Fletcher
September 30, 2026 at 6:20 PM
#10
Thank you John Mark, I like what you said here and the Scriptures you quoted.

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