Should I give alms at the church? How to give alms correctly so as not to harm yourself. To find love

Almost every day on our life’s journey we meet homeless people, popularly contemptuously called “homeless people.” Near the station, near the metro, any more or less crowded place and, of course, almost every church you can find homeless people asking and even demanding money. And every time, many hearts painfully decide the question: “Should I give alms or not?” And then other questions arise: “How much exactly? How exactly to submit? Is there any point in this?

Basically people are divided into two groups. The first are those who give and help everyone to the best of their ability, without reasoning or asking unnecessary questions, following the words of the Lord: “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you” (Matthew 5:42). And the second are those who do not give alms to the “homeless”, believing that one should not encourage the “homeless mafia”, that if you give, you will find yourself an accomplice in their sin of drunkenness, parasitism, lying, etc. These people are ready to fulfill Christ’s commandment and are happy to help a person, but only one who really needs help. At the same time, they also cite the words of the holy fathers that the highest virtue is reasoning, for without reasoning, done beyond one’s strength and at the wrong time, neither fasting, nor prayer, nor almsgiving, nor any other virtue will bring benefit to a person. Indeed, it is unlikely that anyone will give money to a person asking for a rope to hang himself, no matter how tearfully and persistently he asks. But such a rope can also be a bottle of alcohol, which every day squeezes the unfortunate person’s throat more and more. Or a rope of lies that you must indulge in while serving. And there are hundreds and thousands of such “ropes”.

For example, you go to work, and a tipsy beggar asks you for money. What to do? Don’t be lazy and ask why he needs money. They often ask for food. This is the simplest case. Then you need to go with him to the nearest store and buy him something that he has probably been deprived of for many years. Celebrate him as if he were your good old classmate. Good and more expensive sausages, fried or smoked chickens, cheese, yoghurts are suitable - in other words, things that none of them “snack on” and, due to the high cost, almost never buy as food. And even if the homeless man lied to you at the beginning, he will still be grateful to you - try to transfer this gratitude to the Lord, so that he thanks the Lord, and not you personally. For example, tell him that it was Christ who sent you to him today. And this will be physical and spiritual alms. Try to see in him a deeply suffering person, and if you cannot see even in the very last “homeless” the image of God, perhaps a very dirty, clouded, but still majestic image of God, then perhaps this is a subject for prayer and discussion with a confessor.

Ask the homeless person what his name is, how often and where he visits, when his birthday is, and whether he is baptized. Be sincere and kind with him. Homeless people are very sensitive to insincerity. Don't be so quick to judge. We do not know what we would be like if the Lord deprived us of His protection and did not protect us from the demon of drunkenness and other vices. Wouldn't we be much worse than this person? In one word: love it. Love as much as your heart can; love sincerely, for Christ's sake. And if even a little love for this person is born in your heart, then the next time you leave the house, you will probably prepare to meet him: grab home-made food, warm clothes, a book or something nice for him. You will leave home 15 minutes earlier for work and find him, wait for him, call him by name, take care of him and increase love in this world, the lack of which is felt more and more acutely. And so, day after day, you can live for the sake of Christ, caring even for one beggar. Don’t buy yourself off with money, don’t limit yourself to one-time help: it’s good, but it’s an imperfect fruit. You can't love for only half an hour and then forget.

The only thing worth warning is: do not give money under any pretext, do not give in to persuasion! A person on the street and in such a difficult situation is so spiritually ill that in the vast majority of cases he will not be able to manage money correctly. Buy him what he needs, live at least a little of his life and problems.

It is important to take care of the human body, but it is even more important to take care of the soul. Do this unobtrusively: let your heart itself tell you when to tell a person about spiritual things, how and when to encourage him to make peace with God. When it is worth telling him about confession, about prayer and about the boundless mercy of God, that real life and healing are possible only through the Lord’s healing of his soul, which cannot happen without his desire. It happens that a person is eager and ready to hear it right away, but sometimes it happens only after years. The holy righteous John of Kronstadt writes about this: “Know that with material mercy spiritual mercy must certainly go hand in hand: affectionate, brotherly, with sincere love treatment of your neighbor; Don’t let him notice that you’re favoring him, don’t show him a proud look. Be careful not to deprive your material alms of value by not giving spiritual ones.”

Of course, all possible cases of need are not limited to food, and there are many others. But everything has one thing in common: without love, Christ’s commandment “be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36) cannot be fulfilled. And in the example of homeless people, this could not be more obvious. But this also applies to other cases: if you are helping a patient, you cannot simply buy him medicine; You can’t just send a parcel to a prisoner; You can’t just send toys to an orphanage, etc. All this is good, but without sincere love, all this is often devalued, giving rise to sin and vices among those to whom this help is addressed and who distributes it. Medicines give rise to the envy of other patients; the prisoners lose your tea, lard and sweets at cards; children in orphanages simply become extortionists, etc. And again and again, despondently, we will return to the question: what to do? And still the same answer: love, love for Christ's sake. Pray for the sick, visit him, console him, buy him medicine, talk with other sick people, arrange little joys and holidays for them, talk about God’s greatness and mercy; correspond with the prisoner, send him parcels, console and preach, instilling hope and making him think about his life; come to the children, bring them toys, draw with them, sing, treat them to cakes, teach them to pray, hope and trust in the Lord God, etc. And so live every day for the sake of Christ. Of course, many cannot find time for all of the above. Then, at least, help those who are already sincerely doing this, and pray for them with all your heart, which, no doubt, was created for love.

But under no circumstances should you take on feats beyond your strength: under no circumstances should you bring the homeless to your home to spend the night, should not go to places where there are mass gatherings of “homeless people” alone, and should not borrow money to distribute it to the homeless. You need to be aware that the majority of people in this social stratum are very sick spiritually, and often mentally, and almost always physically. Attempts at such super-feats often ended tragically. Often such actions are a consequence of pride and neophyte.

There is also a myth in the minds of some people that if a person is given housing, an apartment and a job, he will improve. Practice shows that this does not happen. Without peace with God, without God’s miracle of healing the soul, this is impossible, but we can be co-workers with God, increasing love and causing a person to turn his face to God.

Moreover, it must be said that everyone should give alms - rich and poor, good and bad, just not indulge in the mortal sins of lying, drunkenness, debauchery and others, and approach everything with love and reasoning. “He who gives alms, imitating God, does not distinguish between evil and good, between righteous and unrighteous in bodily needs.”

So, in very difficult cases, I had to sincerely tell a homeless person, stubborn in his lies, that I absolutely did not believe him, but I would help for the sake of Christ, for the sake of the love that Christ gave me for him. It is also important that without love, even such a great virtue as reasoning can turn into condemnation, an excuse for one’s greed and laziness. One should pray that God will give this gift of discretion. And it is given for a good life full of mercy and love in Christ.

When going to work of mercy, we should not forget to pray to God that He would give us the strength and understanding to fulfill His commandment as it pleases Him. In general, prayer is an integral component of works of mercy. Without prayer it is almost impossible to do what pleases God. We can calculate everything, agree on everything, be confident in success, but if there is no prayer, then our affairs are like a house built on sand. A homeless person who has not eaten meat for a long time may feel ill after eating; a new jacket could be a reason for beating him; a new restored passport may be unexpectedly stolen by “friends” and sold for shady affairs that will not be known how they will play out in the future; medical care can lead to great complications, etc.

If we start talking to someone, then it would be good to briefly pray for this person, even if we do not know his name, and even more so if we do. Often confessors give their blessing to read “To the Heavenly King” to themselves, especially if the conversation has begun about the spiritual. When approaching, it would be nice to smile sincerely. After all, it is wonderful to be a participant, a performer, a conductor of God’s mercy.

In no case should you combine your gifts with reproaches regarding his lifestyle, with moralizing and unsolicited advice. You need to help simply, without the desire to lecture the person. It’s already hard for him, even if it’s his fault, and additional reproaches and teachings will be just another aggravating circumstance for him. Our task is not to aggravate, but to try to lighten his burden, at least in small ways for a second. Advice can be given only after knowing a person and loving him, having some kind of trust on his part, with prayer and inner humility.

When speaking to “homeless people,” we need to make sure that arrogance does not appear in our speech. And if, when giving alms, we allow ourselves to be proud of this person or to become vain, then this will destroy our virtue, make our behavior vile in the eyes of the Lord, and He will certainly punish us for this if we do not repent.

All this may seem difficult to achieve, but the effort is worth it. These works of mercy are real, active proof of our faith and our love for Christ. And most importantly: the Lord helps when you start giving alms, gives you special grace, often even despite our vanity and laziness. And if a person sincerely tries to please and love the Lord, then the Lord covers and corrects, and even moreover, turns our mistakes to the glory of God. Grace begins to transform the soul, the seed of the Kingdom of Heaven begins to sprout in it. Every day a person begins to feel this special joy of a new spiritual reality: “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which, having found, a man hid, and for joy over it he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that field” ( Matthew 13:44). Staying in this grace so transforms the soul that imperceptibly things that seemed impossible become simple and even desirable.

When helping people, do not hope to change the world and all the homeless, do not expect gratitude from them - do everything for the sake of the love of Christ. Do not be discouraged and do not be afraid if, despite all your efforts, someone nevertheless turns your alms to evil. “Give to everyone who asks you and do not ask back, for the Father wants everything given to be from His gifts. Blessed is he who gives according to the commandment, for he is innocent. Woe to the one who receives, for if someone, having a need, accepts, he will be innocent, but if (whoever receives), not having a need, he will give an account of why he accepted and for what... But it is also said about this: let your alms sweat in your hands yours until you know who to give it to."

Of course, there are holy people living in our time, but for ordinary sinful people - city dwellers, exhausted by the race of consumerism, deprived of heartfelt prayer, incapable of perfect fasting, not having time for apostolic service, mired in loans and worldly affairs - “alms done for the sake of Christ, for the sake of love for Him, cleanses from sins more important than sacrifices, opens heaven more important than virginity, can make them equal to the apostles.”

We must say a few words for those who do not give alms to the “homeless” at all, believing that this person himself is to blame for all his troubles. I’ll say this: maybe you’re right, but isn’t the Lord all-powerful to help and resurrect even the dead? Does He, who created the universe, heaven and earth and all things, need our pennies or millions? Does it matter to Him exactly whose pocket our 50-ruble note is in? Or is He unable to feed the hungry, clothe the cold, or give housing to the homeless? The good Lord can do all this, but he trusts us to do it. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand: Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you accepted Me; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him: Lord! when did we see you hungry and feed you? or to the thirsty and gave them something to drink? when did we see you as a stranger and accept you? or naked and clothed? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and came to You? And the King will answer them: “Truly I say to you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25: 34-40). And in order to serve Christ, you don’t have to live 2000 years ago, but you can simply give a bowl of soup to a homeless person today and say to God: “You’re hungry, Lord, let’s eat.”

What is alms and how to give it? It would seem that what is so difficult here? It turns out that not everyone can not always be helped, even if asked. Almsgiving is a whole science. Before learning it, you should study and understand the language of theology well.

What is almsgiving? Parable of Alms

There are many parables that say that the rich should give to the poor. And then the one who sympathizes will be rewarded for his mercy, and the one who asks for his patience.

According to religion, almsgiving is giving to the poor. Sharing with one's neighbor is one of the main life tenets of a true Christian. But here we need to correctly interpret the concept of “giving alms.” Who is really worth helping, and who should you bypass and thereby save both your soul and the person asking?

Parable of the Wandering Jews

One of the biblical parables is also devoted to this issue. The Jews, wandering in the desert, sacrificed gold twice. In the first case, they collected all the jewelry of their women and cast a calf from them. They presented this gift to the devil. The second time, all the Jewish husbands collected all the gold and silver coins. They presented them as a gift to the Lord God.

What does this mean? That when a person spends what he earns on all his whims, such as parties, clothes, expensive jewelry, then he presents all this to his demon. That is, thereby feeding it. And if he gives acquired property and money to the poor or buys them food and clothing, then the person saves his soul. After all, he makes a presentation to the bright side of his inner being.

Is a person really in need?

But in our world, it is sometimes very difficult to determine who is truly in need and who is fraudulent, begging for money for their greedy needs. You cannot give donations to everyone who asks, and most importantly, how much he asks. One must be able to distinguish between those truly in need and typical speculators making money. This is also stated in the Bible. That is, everyone should give depending on their income. The one who is richer is, accordingly, more. The poor man can give according to his strength. And they will be credited equally. After all, they give equally according to their capabilities.

You need to do good deeds correctly

So how should you give alms? Remember, do everything from your heart and with good intentions. If you see that a person needs more than you, give it, don’t regret it. Avoid scammers and try to warn other applicants about the unclean intentions of the person asking. The look should be welcoming and bright. Under no circumstances should you give with regret or reluctance. Like, you need to apply, but you don’t want to. Or as many do, especially the rich: they throw alms to the poor with a favor. All this will come back to you with the same pain that the person asking you experienced at that moment.

After all, the Bible says that you give not just to the poor person in need, but to your God. Thus, thank him for all your good deeds and daily trials. The saying “As you sow, so shall you reap” applies perfectly here. That is, the more you sacrifice with a pure heart, the more will be returned to you later in the works of the Lord.

“When the right hand serves, the left hand should not know about it.” What does it mean? When you donate, no one needs to know about it. And you yourself should not count how much you have given, but how much good is left. If you did something like this, then forget it. The more you give, the more you will receive.

Serve on time

Remember that alms, like everything in this life, must be timely. Serve before it's too late. The poor man has not yet taken the dark road. After all, many may commit crimes in order to feed themselves and their children. They can steal, deceive, force others to give them their property and, worst of all, commit murder. Remember that food should be given when a person is hungry, and not when he died without ever seeing food. Help orphans or those who have stumbled, so that you don’t have to answer to the Lord later. They could have helped, but they passed by, the man laid hands on himself, taking a great sin upon his soul. But you could have done something and didn’t want to, which means that you will have to answer later before the Almighty.

Alms can be different!

After all, almsgiving is a kind human attitude towards someone in need.

You see a woman crying on the street - don’t pass by. Suddenly she was robbed, and she needs help. Or maybe she has a problem at home, and she has no one to share it with, and she cries. It is possible that a person simply feels bad, but does not have the strength to ask for help. After all, you or your loved ones may find yourself in such a situation, and it’s good when strangers don’t pass by indifferently.

Or look around, maybe you have an old neighbor whose children don’t go to see her, or she’s completely lonely and needs help. Go to the store, get water, chop firewood, clean the house, or just talk over a cup of tea. For many lonely old people, your half an hour of time will not only lift their spirits, but will also bring them back to life. And you need to do this every day, and not when you yourself feel bad and think about others.

After all, most of us go to church when one of our loved ones begins to get sick or is unwell ourselves. That’s when we light candles in church and distribute them to the poor. Is this correct? Of course not. Every day someone needs help, and not just when we remember it, and then only in order to save ourselves. It is better to do things when you are healthy and share them with others.

It also happens that rich people are so stingy that they don’t even help their children and don’t share their wealth. And when they are already on their deathbed, they remember them. Then they begin to divide who gets what. Can such a person be sure that his children will fulfill his last wishes? After all, during his lifetime he did not honor them, and they can repay him in kind. If the Lord blesses a rich man through his wealth, then he must share it during his lifetime.

Alms in the church

Many people wonder: what is the correct way to give alms in church? Now you can stumble upon dishonest priests. All of them unanimously claim that if you give alms in church, then you will be rewarded doubly for it. But where is it written and said in the Bible that good deeds in the temple are doubled? All this looks like a marketing scheme by those church fathers who want to put everything into their pockets. Here, too, everyone must distinguish where to leave a donation, and which temple is better to bypass.

Unfortunately, in some modern cathedrals and churches the priests don’t even know all the prayers, and not only do they not know, but they haven’t even finished reading the Bible. But you can’t be categorical about everyone. Most of them still truly serve the Lord. Also, many poor churches need alms or simply physical strength. After all, it’s not the good church that has huge domes and everything inside is bursting with wealth and gold. And the one where the priest will help and forgive sins with a bright and pure soul. The church is considered to be the house of the Lord, where people gather and talk with him. Some people ask for health, others for peace of mind.

A good priest gives thanks for what he already has. Many come to the temple to honor the memory of loved ones and relatives. Or they just bring a donation. But the Scripture does not say that the house of the Lord should be richer in gold and wealth than the parishioners who bring alms to its doors.

Conclusion

To summarize the above, we can say that alms are a good gift from the giver to the needy. Therefore, help people from the bottom of your heart!

It doesn’t matter where alms are given: a church or just a busy street. The main thing is to help someone in need, if not with money, then at least with a kind word.

The Orthodox faith is built on love for God and people. A true Christian will always find a reason to lend a helping hand. Therefore, it is necessary to learn to sacrifice your time and provide material support to people in need. Why should you submit? How to give alms correctly? Who is better to help - a loved one or a stranger? Let's look at these questions in detail.

Why is it necessary to give alms?

Throughout the patristic literature, we see examples that oblige us to do the same. The main foundation of the Orthodox faith is sacrifice, built on love.

• Give as needed and, firstly, give with a friendly look from a good heart, and not with regret and as if involuntarily: not with grief and not with compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).
• As you sow, so shall you reap: if you sow generously, you will reap abundantly; if you sow sparingly, you will reap little. He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6).
• He who does good to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him for his good deed (Proverbs 19:17).

There are endless examples of the fact that alms are worth giving. By giving alms, we can atone not only for our sins, but also help our living and deceased loved ones. By giving alms, even through force, we soften our hearts. But only in a good heart can the Holy Spirit, one of the components of the Divine Trinity, exist.

It is necessary to sacrifice “for health” or “for peace.” It is better if help is provided to a poor person. You can often meet such people near the church. Some rules:

• calculate at home how much you are willing to give;
• if you intend to donate a large amount, it is better to distribute a little bit of it to all the poor;
• if the financial assistance is small, choose one person who needs your help. Your heart will tell you who to give it to;
• when giving, ask to pray for health or peace, name the name of the person for whom the sacrifice is being made;
• It is not necessary to give money, it can be food or things.

Often people begging near the church look unattractive. These include dirty clothes, a persistent smell of fumes, external injuries, and strange behavior. Remember that you are sacrificing to God! Put aside internal prejudices, do not judge such people. Often among these beggars there are people “thrown out” by life, who have fallen to the very bottom. There can be many reasons for this: homeless childhood, when a person has not learned to live differently, and illnesses of a physical and mental nature. “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick,” said God. And if He decided so, do we have the right to doubt?

Who is better to help?

We often think that helping loved ones is our almsgiving. Unfortunately, it is not. By helping a loved one, we do not cleanse our heart. The easiest way to help relatives is. This is already inherent in us from the very beginning. The donation will be complete if in our hearts we are a little greedy, nervous, but as a result we still give. This means that we were able to overcome our inner “greedy person”.

However, when serving to strangers, do not forget about your loved ones. Take a closer look, maybe some distant relative needs your help. This may not only be financial support. For example, visit an elderly relative, put her house in order, bring something tasty with you, and just have a heart-to-heart talk. Sacrifice your personal free time for this. This will also be alms in the eyes of the heavenly Father.

If you doubt the rational use of your funds by a poor person, donate money to the church. Often they themselves and the Orthodox community at the church take care of people in need, helping with food, clothing and medicine. In any case, the money will go “to the cause.”

Each person decides for himself how to give alms correctly. The heart of an Orthodox Christian should help in this. Try not to bypass a person in trouble, take a closer look at your neighbors and be ready to always lend a helping hand.

To make soup, you need to know how to cook. What about giving alms? It turns out that this is a whole science. Give it to the first beggar you meet or take it to your loved ones? Should we give equal amounts to all beggars? Or maybe it’s better for someone to refuse a donation altogether? Much has been written about this, but, alas, in order to read it all, you must first learn to understand the language of theologians. The Greek bishop, who lived at the end of the 17th century, was a supporter of preaching in the vernacular, so his advice was clear to people then, and will be clear now.

Why did the angel pull the prophet by the hair?

The Prophet Daniel, due to the hatred of the Babylonian nobles, was thrown into the lions' den. Six days passed without him eating any food there, and then the Lord sent His Angel to Judea, to another prophet - Habakkuk, who at that time was carrying food to the field to the reapers. The angel said to Habakkuk: “Take this dinner to Babylon, to Daniel in the lions’ den.” Habakkuk answered: “Sir! I have never seen Babylon and I don’t know the ditch.” Then the Angel of the Lord took him by the hair and placed him in Babylon over the pit, by the power of the Spirit. And Habakkuk called and said: “Daniel! Daniel! take the lunch that God has sent to you.” Daniel said: “You remembered me, O God, and did not forsake those who loved you.” And Daniel arose and ate. An angel of God instantly returned Habakkuk to his place (Dan. 14:29-41). Habakkuk, of course, could have said to the Angel when he appeared to him: “I have workers in the field waiting for lunch, and you send me to distant Babylon with this lunch to Daniel, what will my workers eat?” But the Prophet did not say so. God told him to take food to a prisoner who was starving, and he fulfilled the command without any excuses.

How many prisoners are there, how many are starving like Daniel! How many are there who do not have a piece of their daily bread, how many are debtors, helpless, how many are shivering from the cold! God tells us to take care of them and to help them. The poor man betrays himself to you; You are a helper to the orphan (Ps. 9:35). Is it possible to have any excuse here? Almighty God, of course, could have fed Daniel with heavenly food without Habakkuk’s dinner, but His wise Providence wants one person to suffer need, and another to help him in this need, so that the poor man suffers need, and you, the rich man, help him. Why is this so? For the benefit of both: so that the poor one receives a crown for patience, and you for mercy. But so that you don’t work in vain, here’s a rule for you: Give where you need to; give as much as necessary; come on as needed; give when necessary. That is: judge the person to whom you give, and the measure, and the type of alms, and the time.

Don't give gifts to the devil

Let's go where we need to go . The Jews donated their treasures in the desert twice: the first time they collected women's jewelry in order to pour out a golden calf from them; another time they took down their gold, silver and copper items, precious stones and fabrics for the construction and decoration of the tabernacle (camp temple). In the first case, they gave their treasures to the devil, and therefore, to the wrong place; in the second, they dedicated them to God, that is, they gave them where they needed to be given. So, when you give, donate, spend, squander your property on your whims, which are the same to you as idols, for example, on games, on clothes, on drunkenness and obscene feasts, then know that you are giving it to where it is not necessary, for you are offering it as a gift to the devil. And when you donate to a church, to a monastery, when you use your wealth to help some poor family, for a dowry for a poor girl, for ransoming a captive, for feeding an orphan, then know that you are giving it exactly where it is needed: you are bringing everything it is a gift to the Lord God.

To heaven for a chervonets

Give as much as necessary, that is, look at the person and his need. For a beggar who wanders the world, two money is enough to buy his daily bread, but these two money are not enough for a respectable person who, due to some unfortunate circumstances, has fallen into poverty, is not enough for a dowry for a poor girl.

When the earth is dry, it cannot be watered with a few drops of water: it needs plenty of rain. What is the need, such is the help there should be. Likewise: what is the condition of the giver, such should be the alms. The rich give more, the poor can give less. And with the Lord they will both receive an equal reward. Why? Because, of course, the Lord does not look at alms, but at good will. A poor widow put two copper mites into the church treasury, where the rich put gold and silver, but Christ praised her offering more than others: everyone, He said, put in from their abundance, but she, out of her poverty, put in everything she had, all her food ( Mark 12:44), that is, all his fortune. The door can be unlocked with a gold, iron, or even a wooden key, as long as it fits the lock: just as a rich man can unlock the door of heaven with a ducat, and a poor man with a copper coin.

Loan to God

Give as needed and, firstly, give with a friendly look from a good heart, and not with regret and as if involuntarily: not with grief and not with compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7). Is the one who gives and scolds, gives alms and shames worth the reward?! If you only knew who is really asking you for a piece of food, insignificant help! If you only knew Who says to you: Give Me a drink (John 4:10). After all, this is God Himself in the form of a beggar man! This is what Saint Chrysostom says about this: “Oh, how high is the dignity of poverty! God Himself hides under the cover of poverty: the beggar stretches out his hand, but God accepts. He who gives alms to the poor lends to God Himself: He who gives charity to the poor lends to the Lord (Proverbs 19:17). So, think with what joy you should give alms! Give with a generous hand, for just as a sower scatters seeds not one grain at a time, but a whole handful, so in the act of alms follow the words of King David: he lavished, he gave to the poor, therefore his righteousness endures forever (Ps. 111:9). As you sow, so shall you reap: if you sow generously, you will reap abundantly; if you sow sparingly, you will reap little. He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly; and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor. 9:6). Christ Himself teaches how to give alms: But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3). This means: let your alms be a secret, so that not only people do not know about it, but so that you yourself do not count your own good; when one hand gives, the other does not need to know about it: let them both serve - generously and plentifully.

“Rise up, dead rich people!”

Finally, give when necessary. This is most necessary both for the poor man and for yourself. The road to almsgiving in times of poverty. Help when you can still help, give before it’s too late, before the poor man falls into despair, indulges in theft and other vices, until he dies of hunger and cold. Help a helpless orphan girl get married before she loses herself, so that you don’t have to answer to God for her. Finally, give while you yourself live in the world, without waiting for the hour of death. When you die, you will inevitably be merciful, because you cannot take anything with you into the grave. While you are alive, do good, so that it comes from a good heart, from a good will, and then you will have a perfect reward from the Lord. Almsgiving is good even when leaving this life, but it is much better during life. Oh, how great is the Lord’s reward for her, what consolation it will bring to your conscience! What a joy it is for the heart to be comforted while still alive by the well-being of that orphan whom you brought into the world, to see the happiness of that poor girl whom you arranged to marry, to see the joy of that poor man who, with your help, got out of trouble! Will it be at that time when you are at your last breath? You are about to write a spiritual will, and your relatives and friends will already come to you to close your eyes... But suppose that you have time to write this will: are you sure that your heirs will fulfill your will? What foolishness! When during your lifetime you did not trust them with your belongings, will you really trust them with your soul after your death? The rich are dead! If possible, rise from your graves; I will ask you only one question: if God gave you the gift of resurrection for only one hour, what would you do then? Oh, of course, then you would pay in quadruple for all your unrighteousness, you would give away all your wealth in order to appease God’s justice through this... Now, listener, you now ask, like the rich man of the Gospel: What good thing can I do to have eternal life? (Matt. 19:16). And I answer this question for you: if God blessed you with earthly blessings, like the rich man, then go ahead.

Go where you need to go; give as much as necessary; come on as needed; and give when necessary. And then you will have treasure in Heaven - eternal life, the Kingdom of Heaven. More than this, of course, what more could you wish for yourself?

Advice from priest Andrei Chizhenko.

Mercy is a very important matter in the life of an Orthodox Christian. In terms of its significance for the human soul, it is equal to prayer. Prayer and almsgiving are two wings that lift our soul to God.

Let us remember the passage of the Gospel that is read on the Sunday of the Last Judgment (see Matthew 25: 31-46).

By what method will the Savior judge us? “Did we warm... Did we feed... Did we give drink... to our neighbor. And if we did this, then we warmed, fed, and gave Christ himself water.”

God is love, and faith without works is dead, the holy apostles tell us. And deeds of mercy are precisely the embodied manifestation and confirmation of love. A penny, some bread, clothes - all these are manifestations of our love. When we sacrifice ourselves (our money, food, other material means) for our neighbor, we are conductors of Divine love and thereby connect ourselves with the Lord, Who is also merciful and sends rain to everyone - both good and evil. We become like Him. And this, of course, is our main task as Orthodox Christians.

Let us remember the life of St. Thomas the Apostle. He distributed all the Indian king's money to the poor and thereby built him a beautiful palace in paradise.

Much the same thing happens to us. In fact, by helping our neighbors, we help ourselves, because our good deeds of mercy are, as one of my parishioners says, “steps to heaven.”

In addition, deeds of alms have another meaning. They do not allow us to become mentally, sensually, heartily fixated on worldly things, they do not allow us to become attached to them with our hearts. They do not allow, figuratively speaking, to become like Gollum from Tolkien’s novel “The Lord of the Rings”, so that we do not have our own “charms” of dachas, houses, cars and other things. This means that by tearing something away from our earned material “pie,” we thereby save our immortal soul.

Of course, many doubts often arise on this score (including me!)...

A gypsy woman walks through the station, asking for alms: for a child, for an operation, etc. Or a beggar stands at the entrance to the subway. And you know that begging is a business that has its own developed infrastructure. It has its own “kings” and “soldiers” who skim off the “cream”, and simple “workers” in the form of a gypsy or a single disabled person standing at the entrance to the metro. Each of them, perhaps, has his own “tax” and “tribute”, which he must give to the “soldier”, and that to the “king”. Often a person who is in need will not come out to ask because he is ashamed.

But it seems to me that the Lord warned us against such thoughts, because if we analyze everything from a practical, earthly point of view, then there is no need to give anything to anyone. After all, if you look at another person under this devilish, condemning microscope, then you will find SO MANY flaws in him! And, of course, he will not deserve our mercy.

I think the Lord warned us against this. Let us remember the Gospel of Matthew: “When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3, 4).

First of all, the Savior warns us against vanity. In my opinion, it also comes from excessive reasoning “to give or not to give,” “worthy or not worthy.” It seems to me that at some point it is better not to reason, but to simply give and pass by, to participate with your feasible contribution in the life of another person, especially since we do not fully know it. Or maybe at that moment we saved a person from death!

And the great sacrament of love took place: the union of two hearts through a union of mercy.

In one of Sergei Dovlatov’s works there are lines that mercy is more important than truth.

I think so too, dear brothers and sisters. Of course, this is not said about Divine truth, but about earthly, material truth. After all, in essence, heavenly truth is mercy. The world itself, planet Earth itself and the coming of Christ are a penny thrown into the hat of suffering humanity.

Let us recall the interpretation of the parable of the prodigal son: The Old and New Testaments are compared with two coins that the merciful Samaritan (God himself!) gave to the innkeeper.

Therefore, we must become like God and, to the best of our ability, share with our neighbors, first of all, our love.

But we should also remember about the variety of “pseudo-religious” scam. Religious scams are quite common. A person can grow a beard, buy a cassock, make himself a donation box and stand, for example, at a train station, collecting money for a non-existent temple.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, assistance to churches and monasteries should be targeted. Everything needs to be checked accurately so as not to become a victim of scammers. It is best to go to this monastery or temple yourself and secretly put money into the carnival. As a rule, donation boxes are located on the territory of monasteries or temples and are rarely located outside them. If you nevertheless decide to approach a man in a cassock and with a cap at the station, then ask where he is from, look at his documents. The priest must have an identity card or certificate from the diocesan bishop. Basically, like a monk (nun).

The same applies to donations by bank transfer via the Internet to sick people. It seems to me that it is better to do this on trusted official sites, so as not to become a victim of scammers.

Everything must be done with reasoning. For example, in my parish there is a psychiatric hospital. Our temple also donates food and clothing to her patients. Representatives of the medical staff of the institution asked me not to give money to patients under any circumstances - they could spend it with great harm to themselves. Products - yes. But money - by no means.

The same may, for example, apply to an alcoholic or drug addict. At some point it is better to buy him a loaf of bread and a piece of sausage than to give him money.
But, dear brothers and sisters, let us do works of mercy. As the Holy Chief Apostle Paul said about the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

And who knows, maybe at the Last Judgment this timely given penny or piece of bread will save us from hell...

Priest Andrey Chizhenko