wrestling with Scripture
Proverbs 31:6-7 (New International Version)
6 Give beer to those who are perishing,
wine to those who are in anguish;
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
I'm getting more and more tired of hearing people share about their conviction to NOT give money to "pan handlers" because they just don't know what they're going to use the money for, or they know exactly what they are going to use it for - alcohol.
Perhaps rather then giving them a buck or two then, we should buy a beer for them and sit and listen and love them. The way I see it, the worst that could happen is we might be accused (as Jesus was) of being "a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners." (Matthew 11:19)