Of Charity and The Christian Outlook

OK.. So we all know that a Christian ought to show compassion to the poor. And we know that many people either don't, or do this in a poor fashion.

OK... today, this poor dude walks up to me and my co-worker after we get off work, and starts begging us for $31. My co-worker gives him some money, listens to his plight, and drives away. I cannot do so, as I have to walk one block to the bus stop.

He talks to me, and to make it brief, essentially he had an operation in the past and the doctors FUBAR'd his back, and his foot. He claimed to be a fellow Christian, talked the talk, and seemed to walk the walk (ie. prayer). I emphasize SEEMED TO.

Now, I felt sorry for the dude, and ended up giving him all my coinage, but was adamant against giving him the contents of my wallet (coins weren't in my wallet). This dude claimed he did no drugs, or drank alcohol.

Now, I listened, and I talked in a fairly genuine way. My questions are:

How do you know whether a panhandler is lying? How would you treat someone like that? Would/could you act sympathetic, or would/couldx you actually be sympathetic? Or would you not be sympathetic at all? Is it a situational basis, where the person may tug at you, or is it random, or is it ALL cases?

To me, I'm leaning towards having a random thing, where some panhandlers may tug at me more than others, and some just don 't affect me whatsoever. I may not feel any sympathy at times, and I may feel an overwhelming sense at times (this is not just limited to panhandlers but also people less advantaged than me). As for the lying issue, I honestly cannot tell, and I tend to assume truth, unless there is something obviously "wrong" about someone (ie. seeing a rolex or watching the person drive away in a car is a sign).

On a larger scale, can a Christian be a Christian just because he or she says they are Christian? Same idea as the above, I suppose. However, this, to me, has larger consequences than being charitable to a phony. I believe in a "spiritual dimension" that is at war, and I believe that there are forces whiuch will want to lead us astray. Now, I'm not pushing the responsibility of human sin on Satan, but I am saying that those forces act like catalysts and inhibitors (damn Chem 12, still in my head after 2 years). The Crusades certainly proved that Christians are not always Christians, and the God Hates Fags site is just as bad. The panhandler claimed he was Christian, and I could not ascertain anything beyond his claim.

Third related topic

Welfare: what is its goals? Why does it STILL allow homeless people to exist? Shouldn't it cover the basic CoL?

Personally, I'm pro-welfare in general. I've benefitted from government programs before, and may still do in the coming years. I'm happy to pay x amount of taxes so that other people can benefit in their own way (hey, not everyone has cerebral palsy *wink*). If someone with a broken leg gets a room because $1 of my tax money went to that hospital, I'm happy. Same with welfare.

BUT: What the hell do people think they're doing, exploiting each other? People exploit the system, the system screws the people. It's sickening at times. I dunno. Complicated issue.

Discuss.


EDIT!!!:

The guy somehow knew I was Christian, but I never said a word about my beliefs. And I don't wear anything that marks me as Christian either. No WWJD bracelet, no cross chain, zilch.

Weird.....