Helpful?

Last week one day when I walked out of the corn crib where we grind our feed, there was a beat-up old pickup truck parked in the yard waiting for me.  The man behind the wheel stops by our place several times a year, so we are familiar with him.  He is an interesting character who has been unemployed for years and gets by on part time work.  His wife left him, he lives in a camper and is trying to raise two boys.  I know there is a story behind it all, some not so good.  Never the less, he is a poor needy soul.

As soon as I walked up to the truck I knew where the conversation was going to go.  He gave me the sob story and asked for help.  This wasn't the first time.
We helped him again.
I gave him a little lecture first.  No beer, no cigarettes, just buy food.  And take your boys to church on Christmas.
He was sincere, thankful, he cried, and asked me to pray with him.

We are willing to help anyone who truly needs help.  We have been richly blessed and therefore have a great responsibility.  But in this type of situation, I always wonder who the truly needy are, what responsibility they have, and where the line is between helping and enabling.  Because sometimes helping them hurts them.  I also know that many soon learn how to work the system and I don't particularly like to be taken advantage of.
But the second half of 1 Corinthians 6:7 came to mind: . . Why do ye not rather take wrong?  Why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?

I like the man, I think I can trust him, and helping him didn't hurt us at all.  I will probably help him again some day if he asks.  That night when I let my Bible fall open to read, it fell open to Hebrews 13 and verse 2 jumped out at me. I am at peace with the situation and I pray for the man.

 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.