TO HELP OR NOT TO HELP?

"Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work. But the younger widows refuse..." (from I Timothy 5:9-11)

Currently, there's a very good Adult Sunday School Class (on the Book of Nehemiah and practical lessons that can be found there) being taught at Bread of Life Church in Westminster, MA where I attend. Associate Pastor Janis Collette is doing a super job teaching the class. Last week, we studied Nehemiah chapter 5. Here, the people grumble that the elitist class is charging them so much in taxes, interest, etc. that they could not even reasonably live. Nehemiah really "came down on" the elitist class for this, and the matter got resolved. Janis asked the class a poignant question. I don't remember her exact words, but it was something to the effect of, "When DO you give people financial help and when do you NOT give people financial help?"

This sparked a lot of interesting discussion. There is no doubt that people in ministry face this issue all the time. I did. There are constantly people coming and asking for financial help- both regular church members and outsiders who contact the church for help. It would be wonderful if the church could just print up hundreds of thousands of dollars to pass out to needy people. I have a feeling that even if that WERE possible, we'd end up running out of ink and of that special money paper that comes from a unique plant in Dalton, Massachusetts and yet we'd STILL not be able to help everybody.

Much was brought up about the issue of "enabling". Sometimes when you hand out money, you do more harm than good. Yet, we really don't want to see children go without food or disabled people thrown out on the street, etc. It's a tough issue. Frankly, the New Testament SEEMS in a number of passages to lean toward the side of just handing out money and sort of "letting the chips fall where they may". I said "SEEMS". It SEEMS to, but THEN there's a chapter like I Timothy 5. We can't ignore it.

It is very unusual for me to contribute nothing to a discussion in Sunday School, but I didn't say anything on Sunday. I DO share the concerns expressed about "enabling" people. Yet, the past two years have been a very challenging time for our family. Right or wrong, if someone wanted to "enable" me, I guess selfishly I'd say, "Go right ahead!"

So, I felt I could not be objective on Sunday,

Today, the Lord has brought I Timothy 5 to mind, and honestly, it's "food for thought".
Yeah, this is a difficult area. Now, when it comes to people OUTSIDE of the church, it's NOT so difficult for me. Back in the 1990s, a Methodist pastor in Framingham used to pass out money like it was chewing gum. People would just show up for the handouts, and he was happy to hand it out. I remember speaking to the frustrated pastor who replaced that man. The replacement told me he'd frequently had to contend with all sorts of vagrants just showing up at his office and asking, "Is THIS the church that HANDS OUT MONEY?!" He explained to them that unlike his predecessor, he did not just hand out money. He WOULD help in certain cases, but he had to be a good steward of God's money. I remember telling that to some people and getting the expected "F bombs" in reply. But that's wisdom. I learned a lot from David C. Milley who was my Senior Pastor when I was a very green new Assistant Pastor. He told such people that IF they would attend church for three Sundays in a row, the church WOULD help them financially. That showed if the person was serious about God and serious about commitment. Most did NOT take him up on it, but he WAS very generous to help the few who would. I adopted that same rule when I pastored.

Back to I Timothy 5, that deals with the situation of someone IN the church who has financial needs. Specifically, it deals with widows. In those days, widows were "up a creek without a paddle". The Apostle Paul insisted that ONLY widows who had reached the age of 60 and met certain other criteria would be financially helped. What about a 49-year-old? What about someone who did not meet all the criteria? As the late Larry Glick used to dramatically say, "SSOORRYYYY!!!"

That may sound cruel, but Paul knew that if you handed out money to all widows, pretty soon you would not be able to help anyone, including the most needy widows.

Financial stress. What is the church to do? A tough issue, and Janis tackled it on Sunday, and the Bible DOES have some things to say about it.

Who said God is not practical?!