While we’ve cautioned against categorizing people as “deserving” or “undeserving,” we still need to deal with the question of how to best help people who seem to hurt their own cause. The key here is balance.

First, when it comes to helping people who have a history of financial self-destruction, Christians tend to either be naïve or cynical (listen to my sermon on Spiritual Discernment, http://bit.ly/ih4l56). Some of us are so afraid of being called self-righteous or judgmental, we find ourselves again and again casting our pearls before swine. Rather than helping people, we find ourselves playing the part of enabler to their destructive behavior. At the other extreme is cynicism. We reach this point when we become judgmental and overly suspicious of people; we fail to see that God can change people just as he has us. Wherever the right balance is in the area of benevolence, it will exist between these two poles. Since we are called to be good stewards, we cannot be naïve. We must not bury our heads in the sand when we know that giving money to a certain cause is unwise and, at times, perhaps even destructive. However, we must not be cynical. We must think the best of people, believing that God will do a work of grace in their hearts. Read More→