Not what I see the local church people around here doing. They take money from the poor. the give nothing to bums as they aren't from their church. The local church gets more goverment money than any bum does. They don't help the bums. My local church only gives to themselves. The priest is a freeloader from every encounter Ive had with him.

Better to share if you can. You might be denying an angel. 10/11/23

To the contrary: there are far too many people who rely on this to take advantage of you and to enable their own addictions (usually both!) *** I find it absolutely amazing how badly some people treat you when you are generous, especially where I live now. (It seems to be a local cultural thing - the more someone does you favors, the worse you should treat them in return, the worse someone treats you, the better you should treat them in return.) *** If you really want to help people in need in a Christian way, donate to a local homeless shelter / soup kitchen. Typically your money will go toward keeping people alive (providing necessities) rather than toward drugs or alcohol. *** If someone says they need money for food, direct them to said shelter/kitchen. *** In my area, the churches also get together to support the shelters and kitchens, but many churches also provide different sorts of humanitarian aid on a case-by-case basis. So: if the person needs something different from food or shelter (that is already available to them for free), direct them to one of these churches. *** As for the opportunistic pan-handler: I carry credit cards, and all of my shopping is done with credit cards, and that's what I tell them.