By the way, you have two coats...

Great article from a friend at the Acts 29 Network site.

There is a strong sentiment in the Bible, in the teachings of Jesus, about our responsibility to the poor. Basically it goes like this: followers of Christ help the poor, weak and the needy. I am not going to defend this assertion here. Too many learned, educated people have made the argument before. More interesting to me are ways people sidestep this obligation.

Sometimes it is rooted in theology. God knows people are poor, He did it for a reason and He is working through that situation, so it's not our place to interfere. If you believe this, don't ever call me if your car breaks down. God knew you were going to break down; I'm not going to mess that up. Maybe God wants you to set up a church beside the interstate where you ended up. It will be a great missional opportunity for you to present the Gospel to other stranded motorists or hitchhikers. Any theological treatise that says we are supposed to leave the poor to their own devices dishonors Jesus.

You can read the rest of the article here