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I need ideas of good deeds I can do for others.
I went to the church and the abouna didn't have anything for me to do. I went to the soup kitchen and they already have too much people. My family kicked me out of the house so I can't serve them. I am not seeing a lot of opportunities for service. Can someone give me some ideas of where/how I can serve? Bible verses about service are also acceptable.
Comments
Take a couple of dollars, walk around, you're bound to see someone who needs your help, like the homeless; give them what you can. Just walk around, you'll find so many need help. If you can't do that, just talk to your friends who are feeling depressed or sad, cheer them up, let your light shine.
Don't give money to the people on the street. That's a big no no. You could be involuntarily aiding in the use of alcohol and illegal substances. A better idea is to ask them if they are hungry then go to a nearby fast food place and buy them something.
[quote author=liftmyheart link=topic=11404.msg137934#msg137934 date=1305412102]
Take a couple of dollars, walk around, you're bound to see someone who needs your help, like the homeless; give them what you can. Just walk around, you'll find so many need help. If you can't do that, just talk to your friends who are feeling depressed or sad, cheer them up, let your light shine.
Don't give money to the people on the street. That's a big no no. You could be involuntarily aiding in the use of alcohol and illegal substances. A better idea is to ask them if they are hungry then go to a nearby fast food place and buy them something.
What? No, don't go to a nearby fast food place, that's full of fatty junk. Instead, go to a local superstore or grocery store, buy high carb bread, high protein meat and high calorie cheese and make them sandwiches, many sandwiches, and go around helping more people with healthier and better tasting food.
[quote author=geomike link=topic=11404.msg137953#msg137953 date=1305439056]
[quote author=liftmyheart link=topic=11404.msg137934#msg137934 date=1305412102]
Take a couple of dollars, walk around, you're bound to see someone who needs your help, like the homeless; give them what you can. Just walk around, you'll find so many need help. If you can't do that, just talk to your friends who are feeling depressed or sad, cheer them up, let your light shine.
Don't give money to the people on the street. That's a big no no. You could be involuntarily aiding in the use of alcohol and illegal substances. A better idea is to ask them if they are hungry then go to a nearby fast food place and buy them something.
Honestly, Khas, when you don't have anything to eat for days, you are pretty happy with fast food. And it only becomes unhealthy if you eat their regularly.
What? No, don't go to a nearby fast food place, that's full of fatty junk. Instead, go to a local superstore or grocery store, buy high carb bread, high protein meat and high calorie cheese and make them sandwiches, many sandwiches, and go around helping more people with healthier and better tasting food.
[quote author=liftmyheart link=topic=11404.msg137934#msg137934 date=1305412102]
Take a couple of dollars, walk around, you're bound to see someone who needs your help, like the homeless; give them what you can. Just walk around, you'll find so many need help. If you can't do that, just talk to your friends who are feeling depressed or sad, cheer them up, let your light shine.
Don't give money to the people on the street. That's a big no no. You could be involuntarily aiding in the use of alcohol and illegal substances. A better idea is to ask them if they are hungry then go to a nearby fast food place and buy them something.
Aren't we supposed to give out things to poor people without caring whether they'll use them in a bad way or not? Sorry it's been something that bothers me a lot and had lots of arguments with my parents about it.
"When you do good, know for whom you do it and you will be rewarded for it"
Thats why I think they're right that we shouldn't give money to people on the streets who might use it for drugs. But I like the idea of giving them food (not healthy food).
Any other ideas guys?
you could see if there is a local neighbourhood watch in your area and talk to the people in charge and see if there are any problems in your area.
maybe some old lady needs someone to take her dog for a walk.
maybe some lonely person with a mental health problem misses the company of his dog and can come out with you and the dog.
maybe there are bored people and people who need their garden digging. introduce them to each other.
if you run out of ideas, get to know your neighbours, see if they'll pay you to wash their car etc. maybe you could raise money for charity this way.
just a few ideas.
+mahraeel+
It is not a good deed to help someone sin though. So it is better to give food than give money which will be spent on drink and drugs.
What about the father who gave the prodigal son his inheritance? He knew he would squander the money in sin. . .
In the time of our Lord those who begged were the sick, the elderly, the displaced. They were not those addicted to drink and drugs. Things have changed. We have to be responsible for those we claim to wish to help otherwise we satisfy only a sense of self-righteousness - I have given to the beggar - rather than considering - who is my neighbour.
Firstly that was a parable, and secondly it was not a gift, it was his inheritance.
In the time of our Lord those who begged were the sick, the elderly, the displaced. They were not those addicted to drink and drugs. Things have changed. We have to be responsible for those we claim to wish to help otherwise we satisfy only a sense of self-righteousness - I have given to the beggar - rather than considering - who is my neighbour.
Why does the fact that it was a parable matter? Why does the fact that it was an inheritance rather than a gift matter?
As for the change in the nature of begging - I think that is an over-generalization. What evidence is there to say people only begged when they were truly in need?
There is no practical way to know how a poor person will use his money. Unless it is obvious that he will buy drugs (which it rarely is) who are we to withhold what has freely been given to us?
That it was an inheritance also matters greatly. It was the money which was DUE to the son. Normally it would be paid over when the father died, but it was HIS. It was not a gift. It was what was DUE to him.
You may well think that the change in the nature of begging is an over-generalisation but I don't. The whole nature of society has changed. The sick no longer sit begging because there is a National Health Service that cares for them. The elderly no longer need to beg because there is an Old Age Pension that provides for them. Those who do not have a job can receive Unemployment Benefit to support them. It is a matter of fact that the majority of those who are truly homeless in the UK are mental patients who refuse treatment, drug addicts and alcoholics. This is a fact in the UK.
In my home town, with a population of 200,000 there are 27 people sleeping rough. This has been massively reduced from past decades. In London there are actions in place to end rough sleeping entirely by next year. Presently about 400 people sleep rough each night. Statistics for rough sleepers - who are the bulk of those begging - shows that the needs are as follows:
50% alcohol,
38% drugs,
35% mental health.
38% have been in prison at some point
11% in care
5% in the armed forces
Therefore it is a reasonable fact that at least 50-60% of beggars do have a drink and/or drug problem. It is almost certain that they need food, a warm drink, and a brief conversation than they need a few pounds to buy more drink or drugs. You say that it is unlikely drugs will be bought but the facts in the UK at least show that 38% of the time drugs will be purchased, and 50% of the time alcohol will be purchased, so we are facilitating a downward spiral.
I was visiting St Mark's in Kensington a few years ago and walking home at night I passed a beggar. I stopped and gave him some money - I wouldn't do that now, I would have gone and got him a warm drink and some food. I asked him his name. He said that I was the first person who had stopped and looked at him like he was a human being. I told him I would pray for him. Sure, I had given him a bit of money. But what I had really given him, I think, was much more valuable to him - a moment of attention and respect.
Why are all the well-respected Christian charities which serve people such as this with soup-kitchens and hostels etc not just handing out money - since this is what most beggars and homeless people would ask for? It is because what they want and what they need are two different things, and giving them what they want prevents them receiving what they need.
When the great plague and famine hit the Syrian city of Edessa it so devastated the population that people were dying in the street, and multitudes were left destitute. The rich people, who were criticised for their luxurious lifestyle, did not simply distribute money, but went out into the streets feeding and caring for the poor, and even opened their mansions so that they became hospitals and hostels.
So I am happy with my judgement that it is best to give something in kind to a beggar rather than money. Better even to give your coat on a cold night to a real beggar - and there are those who beg as a profession - than to give money which will be used to buy alcohol which could kill a person by lowering their body temperature on such a night.
It would also be a properly Christian thing to organise a sponsored activity and raise funds for a homeless shelter in your local town or city. Giving money to such organisations is an entirely positive way of supporting those who are brought to begging.
Father Peter
OK, but what we give the poor is DUE to them as well. We are merely trust-holders. God has given us a blessing but the money is not ours. So when we give the poor money we are not giving them a gift but part of their inheritance as children of God. So we should not withhold money from them unless it is CLEAR that they will use it for evil.
Also, I am not advocating that we quickly walk by a homeless person and toss a few dollars at them. And of course offering a meal and giving them clothes would be ideal, but it is not always practical.
Well I am not going to argue. Do as you will.
Forgive me for coming off as being argumentative, father. That was not my intention.
I am not so concerned about what we might do in any circumstance. I am sure that I will give people money on occasion in the future as well. I don't want to dogmatise any response to a person asking for help.
But I guess I am rather dogmatic in understanding that we should give when asked. It seems to me that this requires sacrificial generosity but that we still have a duty of care to the person asking. I guess that is what I am saying in particular.
I often say 'No' to my son when he asks for things. I am his father and I have a duty of care that extends beyond 'give to those who ask'. And so I do not believe that 'give to those who ask' is an absolute command, so that when someone says give me your house I am unable to refuse. There are other commands which also have a place. If someone says 'give me some whisky' would I have to obey that exact request, or is the duty to give to those who ask a requirement to give them what they really need?
When Apostles said to the crippled man, 'silver and gold have I none', did they really have not a penny at all to give him? Yet they gave what they had, which was not what he asked for, but was what he needed.
The only reason I am for always giving to those who ask is because it takes away the partiality factor. It saves one from making the judgment of homeless people based on appearances.
I must confess, it is much easier to give a person money. At times my weakness and corrupt mind leads me to fear being harmed by the homeless people. So giving money is a simple way to make the least contact. However, I do usually give them a cross or something religious as well.
Pray for my weakness.