How to know if someone's genuine or faking?

[Figure of eighty]

So i went to the store today and a lady was begging bc she needed money for a hotel. 

I told her i only had 5 bucks and she said anything would help and im thinking of you need to get into a hotel youd need more than 5 bucks. 

 

Idk. I mean i dont mind doing it bc Im going to get paid again but i just wonder if how tell when people are in need or trying to dupe you.

[Deborah_]

You can't usually tell. 

Sometimes there's a clue one way or the other. Sometimes the Spirit gives you discernment. Very often we just have to decide for ourselves whether to give or withhold.

Even with the genuinely needy people - some people say you shouldn't give money because it doesn't really solve the underlying problem.

[LonerAndy]

On 9/9/2020 at 10:04 PM, Figure of eighty said:

So i went to the store today and a lady was begging bc she needed money for a hotel. 

I told her i only had 5 bucks and she said anything would help and im thinking of you need to get into a hotel youd need more than 5 bucks. 

 

Idk. I mean i dont mind doing it bc Im going to get paid again but i just wonder if how tell when people are in need or trying to dupe you.

The average panhandler that begs, makes about $15, to $100 hour, depending on how good they are at what they do.

One guy, famously, or infamously made $100,000 a year, panhandling.

He ended up in jail, but only because he actually admitted openly, that he made $100,000 a year begging.

Most beggar move around.  They know that if they stay on the same street corner every day, saying they just need $10 to buy their toddler a sandwich, that you'll get suspicious that they are lying about having a 2-year-old that needs sandwich for the past 5 years.

So they move around intentionally, to keep you from knowing their schemes.

Here in Columbus, one reporter followed beggars around the city, and they would sit on the corner, and trade off with other beggars.  As in, they would get there at a certain time, and stay there until a certain time, and just as they were leaving, someone else would take their spot.

The reporter followed these people, and many of them walked a few blocks away, out of sight, and climbed into a parked car, and drove away.  The reporter followed them, and they drove to a house, and went inside.

So these homeless beggars are often driving cars, and living in homes.  The reporter said most of the beggars did this.

One in particular that I witnessed before, was two guys that would trade off standing at a particular exit, with a sign saying "Homeless Vet. Will work for food"... and then he would leave, and give the sign to the guy who replaced him who was magically also a homeless vet that would work for food.

One guy who looked particularly bad off, said he needed a few dollars to get home, and I gave him a few bucks.   He walked off, and followed him, across the street, around the back of a dingy building, and into a night club.   Obviously to get beer, or drugs in the night club.

So here is my position....

I never, as in NEVER give money to people on the street.  Never.

We don't live in the times of the Roman empire, when beggars were actually beggars.  Beggar in that time, were people who were lame, or sick, or handicapped.

Today, you don't see handicapped people on the side of the road, unless they are faking it.

You don't see sick people, by a spring pool, like Jesus did.

Those people are in government run institutions for those people.

You want to really help people, who actually need help?   Volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house.  Go help people who are actually sick.  Give money to the local battered women's shelter, for people who are actually in trouble.

Whatever dollar you would give a drunk liar out side walmart, saying their toddler is needs a sandwich, so they can stumble into the nearest bar and order a Miller lite.... take that dollar, and give it to people who really need it.

Even your local homeless shelter will do a better job with your dollar, than.......

a woman who drove to another city, without the $50 for a motel room?  And doesn't have a credit card?  And she drove herself all the way there, obviously using gasoline... but can't afford the $50 motel room?

Seems unlikely to me.

Give that dollar to the homeless shelter.  She can drive there and spend the night.

Anyway, that's my view.  I never.... *NEVER* give money to people on the street anymore.  They are all faking it.  All of them.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Alive
video in wron place.

[johnthebaptist]

11 hours ago, Figure of eighty said:

So i went to the store today and a lady was begging bc she needed money for a hotel. 

I told her i only had 5 bucks and she said anything would help and im thinking of you need to get into a hotel youd need more than 5 bucks. 

 

Idk. I mean i dont mind doing it bc Im going to get paid again but i just wonder if how tell when people are in need or trying to dupe you.

I tend to give a dollar to people who ask me for money. There are exceptions. That doesn't include people who are by the road with signs asking for money. I don't know whether or not that satisfies the Lord.

[Aimes]

11 hours ago, Figure of eighty said:

So i went to the store today and a lady was begging bc she needed money for a hotel. 

I told her i only had 5 bucks and she said anything would help and im thinking of you need to get into a hotel youd need more than 5 bucks. 

 

Idk. I mean i dont mind doing it bc Im going to get paid again but i just wonder if how tell when people are in need or trying to dupe you.

I've been known to give to people who are asking on the street if I have cash. I'll also sometimes carry gift cards to various fast food places to hand out. I try to ask the Lord for direction and guidance, sometimes I feel Him tell me no and I don't give in those instances. I used to carry plastic bags with clean socks, bottled water, and some snacks in it but I fail to remember to restock those sadly and go months without having it handy.

I always try to keep in mind that I'm just a couple pay checks away from being in their shoes. I'm blessed and feel like I should try to share in what the Lord has given to me, whether they're lying or not doesn't take away from that fact that it's "more blessed to give". 

[teddyv]

I agree most are not interested in money for food or other necessary elements of life. I've usually given some money to those that are at least polite (some panhandlers are jerks). What we've done from time to time is offer to buy a sandwich - basically ensure that the money is used for something non-destructive. We've had a family come to our door looking for food so we offered to take them down to the Walmart and buy groceries for them. For those not legitimately asking for help, they will decline that because they simply want the cash. That takes some willingness on one's part to follow up on that though.

[Marathoner]

The Lord bless you as you bless others, @Aimes. He will comfort you in your time of need.   

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. (Luke 16:10)

I walk in their shoes. I wear them even now for whatsoever I possess was given to me by another: the food I eat, the clothing I wear, the roof over my head and the device I use to access the internet, to name a few. The Lord in His mercy sees fit to provide for my needs so I have no cause to boast, storing the corruptible for a reward which returns to the dust with this flesh. God moves me from one place to the next in a manner reminiscent of how He dried the brook Cherith in 1 Kings 17. 

In times past I did so blindly out of ignorance but this hasn't been the case after I was born again. The Lord has honored me, putting me in a position to minister to the desperate and dispossessed in a part of this city which most avoid. I understand why they do... I hold nothing against them. 

[Aimes]

1 minute ago, Marathoner said:

The Lord bless you as you bless others, @Aimes. He will comfort you in your time of need.   

He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. (Luke 16:10)

I walk in their shoes. I wear them even now for whatsoever I possess was given to me by another: the food I eat, the clothing I wear, the roof over my head and the device I use to access the internet, to name a few. The Lord in His mercy sees fit to provide for my needs so I have no cause to boast, storing the corruptible for a reward which returns to the dust with this flesh. God moves me from one place to the next in a manner reminiscent of how He dried the brook Cherith in 1 Kings 17. 

In times past I did so blindly out of ignorance but this hasn't been the case after I was born again. The Lord has honored me, putting me in a position to minister to the desperate and dispossessed in a part of this city which most avoid. I understand why they do... I hold nothing against them. 

God bless you, brother. He is faithful to us all.

I truly believe we're to be His body and minister to the NEEDS of others. As we're ministering to their needs I believe the seeds will naturally be sown. I once heard a minister say "how are they able to hear the things of Christ if their stomachs are growling loudly from hunger...". We so often focus on sharing His good news with them (which is so very important, don't get me wrong) without realizing we should also be meeting their physical needs as well. 

[Figure of eighty]

5 hours ago, Aimes said:

I've been known to give to people who are asking on the street if I have cash. I'll also sometimes carry gift cards to various fast food places to hand out. I try to ask the Lord for direction and guidance, sometimes I feel Him tell me no and I don't give in those instances. I used to carry plastic bags with clean socks, bottled water, and some snacks in it but I fail to remember to restock those sadly and go months without having it handy.

I always try to keep in mind that I'm just a couple pay checks away from being in their shoes. I'm blessed and feel like I should try to share in what the Lord has given to me, whether they're lying or not doesn't take away from that fact that it's "more blessed to give". 

Wow that is so clever! 

I need to have that handy too. Gift cards are neat.

[Figure of eighty]

On 9/10/2020 at 1:46 AM, LonerAndy said:

The average panhandler that begs, makes about $15, to $100 hour, depending on how good they are at what they do.

One guy, famously, or infamously made $100,000 a year, panhandling.

He ended up in jail, but only because he actually admitted openly, that he made $100,000 a year begging.

Most beggar move around.  They know that if they stay on the same street corner every day, saying they just need $10 to buy their toddler a sandwich, that you'll get suspicious that they are lying about having a 2-year-old that needs sandwich for the past 5 years.

So they move around intentionally, to keep you from knowing their schemes.

Here in Columbus, one reporter followed beggars around the city, and they would sit on the corner, and trade off with other beggars.  As in, they would get there at a certain time, and stay there until a certain time, and just as they were leaving, someone else would take their spot.

The reporter followed these people, and many of them walked a few blocks away, out of sight, and climbed into a parked car, and drove away.  The reporter followed them, and they drove to a house, and went inside.

So these homeless beggars are often driving cars, and living in homes.  The reporter said most of the beggars did this.

One in particular that I witnessed before, was two guys that would trade off standing at a particular exit, with a sign saying "Homeless Vet. Will work for food"... and then he would leave, and give the sign to the guy who replaced him who was magically also a homeless vet that would work for food.

One guy who looked particularly bad off, said he needed a few dollars to get home, and I gave him a few bucks.   He walked off, and followed him, across the street, around the back of a dingy building, and into a night club.   Obviously to get beer, or drugs in the night club.

So here is my position....

I never, as in NEVER give money to people on the street.  Never.

We don't live in the times of the Roman empire, when beggars were actually beggars.  Beggar in that time, were people who were lame, or sick, or handicapped.

Today, you don't see handicapped people on the side of the road, unless they are faking it.

You don't see sick people, by a spring pool, like Jesus did.

Those people are in government run institutions for those people.

You want to really help people, who actually need help?   Volunteer at the Ronald McDonald house.  Go help people who are actually sick.  Give money to the local battered women's shelter, for people who are actually in trouble.

Whatever dollar you would give a drunk liar out side walmart, saying their toddler is needs a sandwich, so they can stumble into the nearest bar and order a Miller lite.... take that dollar, and give it to people who really need it.

Even your local homeless shelter will do a better job with your dollar, than.......

a woman who drove to another city, without the $50 for a motel room?  And doesn't have a credit card?  And she drove herself all the way there, obviously using gasoline... but can't afford the $50 motel room?

Seems unlikely to me.

Give that dollar to the homeless shelter.  She can drive there and spend the night.

Anyway, that's my view.  I never.... *NEVER* give money to people on the street anymore.  They are all faking it.  All of them.

Yeah thats what i thought. I shouldve asked her how much th3 motel room was but then.. I dont know peoples situation and dont want to be rude.