August 10, 2021 – Click here to listen
How do you help someone who will not help themselves?
I just finished reading a true story about a woman who was raised as a preacher’s kid. I was utterly amazed at the patience and love her parents demonstrated toward their daughter. She was unbelievably promiscuous at a very young age and throughout her life. She combined her uninhibited sexual desires with drugs and alcohol and went on to become a serious drug addict to include using crack cocaine for some 28 years.
I can understand loving your kids. I love mine more than life itself; however, my love for them was (and still is) a tough love, and when I saw any of them heading down a dark path, I stepped in and demonstrated that tough love in no uncertain fashion.
This lady’s parents were what I call enablers. They provided food, money, clothing, shelter, vehicles, and other material needs off and on throughout her life. The desire of parents is to help their children; unfortunately, what they exhibited towards her was akin to pouring gas on a fire. It enabled her to keep going in the same direction. Unfortunately, sometimes the only way to help someone is for them to reach absolute bottom with no one to help, and nowhere to look, but UP!
Christians are especially susceptible to falling into this trap. It seems no pattern of bad behavior is unacceptable, and they cherry pick various biblical verses to support their thought process. Sanctuary churches are one example. Seldom do they consider that by helping people who have entered our country illegally, hurts others. They take jobs away from legal citizens, many of whom migrated here legally; in many cases they protect dangerous criminals that prey on our citizens; and they put a burden on an already overburdened social services. Perhaps worst of all they encourage others to make the dangerous trip to enter our country illegally. All too often along the way those who attempt it are robbed, raped, and often die and are left in the desert to rot by cartels that are enriching themselves.
Nonetheless too many Christians think they are helping them by enabling them.
This same logic can be applied to those in this country who want to provide food stamps to one and all. I read an interesting blurb about this from a reader recently:
“The Food Stamp Program, administered by the US. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing the greatest amount of free Meals and Food Stamps ever – 46 million people now receive Food Stamps.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us, ‘Please Do Not Feed the Animals.’ Their stated reason for the policy is because “The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves.”
Misplaced acts of “kindness” have created a class of people who are trapped in poverty for life and are slaves to our government, totally dependent upon it for food and housing. Oh – And never mind the burden it puts on our taxpayers. Yeah, someone always has to pay for the desires of enablers.
Anyone who has read and studied the Bible knows that God did not intend for us to be enablers. Yes, He wants us to extend kindness and compassion to one another and have mercy on those widows, the disabled, disaster survivors, and the extremely poor among us, but He never intended for able bodied people to sit around on their fat butts eating, drinking, talking on their free cellphone, and refusing to work.
- 2 Thess. 3;10 – “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
- Proverbs 19:24 – The sluggard buries his hand in the dish and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
- Proverbs 19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.
- Proverbs 6:6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest . . .
Those who deserve help are another story. For example, the victims of Hurricane Harvey need our help and they need it now. Christians should and will rise to that occasion. I know I will make my donation through the Salvation Army. It is an admirable thing to offer a helping hand to those to whom it is due.
Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.