This is the way charity should be given, one on one and personal.

Charity should never be forced, on the givers, or delivered in the form of a check or electronic debit card, to the receivers. When money is taken and given that way it becomes an entitlement rather than a gift.

Keith

If I was forced to pray for a hand out I would have left without the hand out.

Would that make you a beggar or a chooser?

Mike

This is not what the story is about. Its about kindness to one another.

Who knows, that single prayer may have had a bigger impact on the guy more than the food.

I mean seriously. Stop and think. What do you think would happen when the deadbeat gets to the mission that night or where he and other deadbeats are going to congregate, and tells them about the restaurant where food is free? you really think that it would be a one time thing for the deadbeat to come in and ask for free food if it is given????????????????????????? .

No Danny. It will certainly not be a one-time thing. It’s not a one-time thing for Chik-fil-A, for the Salvation Army, or for the hundreds of thousands of charities, churches, soup kitchens, shelters, missions, and individuals who voluntarily give each and every day. Has it ever occurred to you that perhaps the reason Chik-fil-A gives away free food is BECAUSE the needy will come back, not in spite of it? Have you ever considered that some people in this world actually LIKE to give to to others instead of merely working for their own gain, and therefore “bringing the rest of the bums back” might not be the cost, but the goal?

The difference between me and you is that you see helping others as a means to an end— you’ll help them IF it gets them off the street, IF it helps you get some work done, IF it helps them not inconvenience you anymore. But you see it as a negative- it’s not something you want to do, so naturally you’ll find any excuse to exempt yourself from it. You won’t help if they want cash, or if they won’t slave for you for it, or if they might come back, or if they DID come back, or if they could be getting help somewhere else, or if they seem like they could be working, or if they smell funny, or if they’re addicted, or if they’ve been on the street for too long, or if they seem lazy, or if they should be trying harder. Right?

It kind of reminds me of a guy I know who claims he likes to trap— but he only does it if he’s not too busy, it’s not too cold, too wet, too snowy, too dark, or too far to drive. The truth is we all pick our priorities, and our priorities define our values. If generosity and selflessness are not among your values, then that’s ok. We’re all different. Just be honest about yourself.

But some of us have found a personal value in selfless giving, above my own self-superior judgement of who deserves to receive, from my little self to Dan Cathy and Travis Boersma (CEOs of Chik-Fil-A and Dutch Bros Coffee, respectively). We’ve chosen to willfully practice a set of values that you’ve never discovered, and that doesn’t necessarily make us foolish or naive. The only naivety would be thinking we do it for a selfish reason.

If giving money to strangers makes you feel good about yourself then by all means give all you can afford. Just don't delude yourself into thinking your helping them.

If giving money to strangers makes you feel good about yourself then by all means give all you can afford. Just don't delude yourself into thinking your helping them.