110. Does Matthew 5:42 teach that a Christian should give to every one who asks him for money if...

Does Matthew 5:42 teach that a Christian should give to every one who asks him for money if he has it in his pocket?

Matthew 5:42 undoubtedly teaches that the disciple of Jesus Christ should give to everyone that asks of him, but it does not teach that he should necessarily give money. When Peter and John were appealed to in Acts 3:2-4 by the lame man at the Gate Beautiful, they gave to him, but they did not give him money—they gave him something better. Paul distinctly says in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 : “If any man will not work, neither let him eat.” This does not mean that if a man is a tramp we should not give him when he asks, but it does mean that we should use discrimination in what we give him.

Immediately after the verse in Matthew referred to Jesus tells us to be like our heavenly Father who “maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and on the just and the unjust.” Our giving should be patterned after our Father’s. He gives to every one that asks, but He does not always give just what they ask.