Before refusing to help someone we should ensure that we do know the details of there circumstances.
Are we qualified to determine whether someone cannot work because of a disability?
Can we assess mental illness?
Paul said if they will not work they shall not eat and that is a good general rule, so long as those who cannot work are also helped.
You must not be fully paying attention to what I have been writing. I said, when we "know" that the need does not exist.
Here's an example. There are a lot of people today, even those on middle and upper middle income or higher, that when asked will tell you they are living from paycheck to paycheck but if you were to really dig into their situation you will likely find that the situation is self-induced by their spending habits. In other words, they are spending beyond their means. Maybe they purchased a more expensive home than they really could afford. Maybe they spent their money on automobiles beyond their ability to pay. Maybe they spend a lot of money on vacations and other things that are not really necessary for life.
I was an living example of such a lifestyle once. Back in 1978 when I was 19 I got hired by a mining company in northern Minnesota's iron range. By 1980 I was making over $20,000.00 per year and by the time I was laid off in 1982 my annual salary was pushing $25,000.00.
According to the American Institute of Economic Research cost of living calculator, $20,000.00 in 1980 is equivalent to approximately $61,000.00 today which is a middle class income. In 1980 it was enough to easily support a family of four where I lived.
Here's what my living expenses were like. I shared a rural farm home with two other guys. The rent was $250.00 per month split three ways. The electric bill was typically about $20.00 per month split three ways. We cut and burned wood so we had no heat bill. I don't recall for sure but I bet our grocery bill was no more than $100.00 per month split three ways and I might be a bit generous with that. So my monthly living expenses added up to approximately $123.00 per month. I also had a college student loan for $52.00 per month and of course auto insurance for my 1967 pickup. I don't recall what that liability insurance cost. I'll guess somewhere around $15.00 per month give or take. So, my total monthly bills were somewhere around $200.00 per month give or take.
I remember my take-home pay was usually around $630.00 every two weeks so multiply that by 26 weeks and divide by 12 and my monthly income was about $1,365.00 per month. Subtract out my monthly bills and I was left with approximately 1,100.00 per month.
I did not do drugs but I did my share of drinking. To give you an idea of what that might have cost, a typical 12-pack of beer cost about $2.50 so to spend 1,100 on beer would have been a huge amount of beer.
If you would have asked me how I was doing I would most certainly have told you that I was living paycheck to paycheck because I was and then some. Back then, when you would write out a check, it typically took a minimum of four days for the check to get back to the bank and be withdrawn from your account. I can assure you that 99 times out of 100 I was writing out checks at least three days before payday with no money in my account banking on my paycheck getting deposited before the check cleared my account.
If I asked someone for help, would it be appropriate to feed that greed and help me out when I was mismanaging what I had been given?
