How do you treat beggars begging for alms in the street? Do you give alms to beggars? Please explain your answer.
Tags: Beggars, Alms, Underprivileged, Grinding Poverty, Poor, Hunger, Deprivation, Neglect, Apathy, Poorest of The Poor, Third World Country
Posted by: Me Avila Alarilla
Philippines
Viewpoint/Opinion
20 comments:
It happens so rarely in my city that I have always given money when someone asked. I don't know how I could bear it if I walked through a city like in the pictures. I don't think I could keep from crying, or if I could even function. It hurts me too deeply to see others suffer.
Hi Shiela,
Probably you will not see those beggars in the Western countries but in third world countries, they are aplenty. They are the result of extreme poverty and government neglect. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
My heart is always for the poor so I always give whatever I have. But here , especially in New York City, there are "street bums" who are not actually poor but make a living out of begging. There was even one woman who was caught by cops who lives in a nice apartment in New York and she's actually well-dressed and well-heeled whenever she's off from her "work" . Her full-time job was begging. She would go outside of her house dressed in rags, bringing a torn blanket and go to the subways and streets of NY City each day to beg. She confessed she makes $75 to $150 a day just by begging.
Some "street bums" in NYC are people who have been given shelter and $800 monthly allowance by the government. So we are discouraged not to give them alms since our money (taxes) go to them anyway. Don't you know that I used to earn $3,500 a month and $1,500 are are deducted for taxes each month. Where do our money go--to women who are single mothers, peole who have no jobs, and no homes, and pepople who are healthy yet don't want to work.
So,it sometimes makes me hesitate to give them here because I know most of them are "street bums" .
Ou might be very surprised to know that there are a LOT of beggars here, such as the ones Bingkee speaks of, and with this financial crisis, we will see more and more. Right now the most shocking thing I hear of about is the amount of people lining up in front of the welfare building at 7 in the morning, in the snow and cold, waiting for hours to be given a number. There are only 100 numbers given out each day because that's all the people that the office staff can interview in one day, so everyone else goes home disappointed, comes back 7 a.m. next morning hoping again to get a number to get welfare. There are homeless kitchens here and now you see even people who have a home going there, because they can't afford food if they pay for their house payment/rent. In the bigger cities the beggars are everywhere, but they are not as poor as the people in your pictures. Like bingkee said, they make a good living from begging. Our city has a big heart and tries to make sure there are no homeless except those who wish to be, so our city doesn't see much begging. The other cities in Canada see it a lot. Now there is a law that a person has to buy a license to be a beggar! Well if they were truly starving, how could they afford to buy the license? Doesn't make sense. The world is not logical anymore. I can see that this almost instant collapse in economy could easily open up society to create/accept the mark of the beast that the scriptures speak about, so be aware of that and don't take it, or the sciptures say we will be cast out of the kingdom of God.
I totally agree with Bingkee... me and my husband will give to beggars whom we think can't get a job coz they're old, handicapped.. and yes, we discriminate beggars (sorta)...
Hi Bingkee,
Yes I agree with you. Probably we should just be discerning enough to know who are the real beggars and who are the professional ones. I was shocked at how much you pay for taxes. It almost amounted to 1/2 of your salary. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
Hi Shiela,
I know what you mean. The worldwide collapse of the world's economy, the onset of the swine pandemic, and other calamitous events are probably already part of the vials of the seven last plagues mentioned in the Book of Revelation. We can only hope and pray that the Lord will take care of us. Beggars in third world countries are different. Although there are also professional beggars and those handled by syndicates, many people are really starving and have no money to buy food. If you have seen the video in my Point of View blog about Chicken a la Carte, you will see that some people in the slum areas are actually eating scrap foods from the trash cans of fastfood restaurants in the Philippines. I cried a bucket when I first viewed that video. I have even seen personally a mentally deranged person actually rummaging food from a pile of dirty trash. Oh how my heart bled when I saw that. I can only pray that the Lord take care of those pitiful people. Thanks for your visit and comforting comments. God bless you always.
Hi Shawie,
I know your heart who also has a soft spot for the underprivileged. How you send food and clothing to your less fortunate kababayans in your province. But we can only do so much. But we can always pray that the Lord help those who are lacking in the basic necessities in life. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
I don't give to beggars because when you give you are consenting them to just rely on begging instead of trying to find some ways to make money instead of begging...
Minsan nakakaawa ang mga matatanda pero karamihan kasi sa mga beggars eh mga malalakas pa which is pag nagbigay ka, tinotolerate mo lang katamaran nila... I do give once in a while but according to the situation..
They say it is not good to give to beggars as it encourages begging. It's better to give to foundations who does something to help these beggars off the streets.
Another opinion is that, some of these beggars are not really poor or are being 'managed' by big-time syndicates.
I have a friend who have a different opinion though, he always give whenever a beggar approaches him. And when told that they might just use it to gamble or buy drugs, he would say this...
"a person approaches me asking for help. God has blessed so much and I want to share that blessing. So when I give to beggars, I believe I am sharing God's blessings to me. What the beggar does with my alms I guess is not for me to tell."
I dare not challenge his opinion.
As for me, sometimes I give, sometimes I don't.
Hi John,
Yes, that's a solid philosophy indeed. I respect your views on this matter. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
Hi Rose,
Yes, that is very understandable. We never want to consent the laziness of others. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
Hi Roy,
We have to have the spirit of discernment to know when and whom to give. I agree with you that there are professional beggars and there are those managed by syndicates. But how can we tell which is which? It is better to err on the side of righteousness than be accused by God of abandoning the least of our brethren. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
i'm torn. i give to old people but not to the younger ones. i see children begging for money and the parents/guardian is/are in one corner smoking, playing cards, or sniffing rugby. =(
Hi sis Pia,
Just be more sensitive on the leading of the Holy Spirit and you will know when and whom to give. God has given us the spirit of wisdom and discernment to distinguish those who are really needy and those who are just feigning it. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you always.
Come and see the beggars in my country,!!!
I only give to disabled people, because they are turned out of their homes many time. i don 't give to able bodied ones.
Its very hard to discern at times. There are small kids begging...they are part of begging gangs, many of them have been abducted from home and put into this use.
I don 't know what to say.
Hi Amrita,
I also do the same. I give to disabled people. Able bodied people who are just too lazy to work, I never give to them. Yes India, the Philippines and other third world countries (although India is never a third world country) have all these pitiful beggars in the streets. Some are real and some are handled by syndicates. We just use our power of discernment to see who are real and who are not. I trust more the leading of the Holy Spirit more than anything else. Thanks for your visit and meaningful comments. God bless you always.
I sometimes give to beggars especially to children who should have been taken cared of by their parents. My heart goes out to them. But I don't give to beggars who are obviously just lazy to work and just choose to beg and not work.
Hi Sam,
Yes, we can choose the kind of beggar we would want to give money to. Those who are able bodied and can work for a living, I usually disregard. But the lame, the blind and those who are mentally deranged I always give because they could never support themselves. Thanks for your visit and comments. God bless you all always.
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