Matthew 5:42 & Luke 6:30

[Bootstrap]

The passage does not say "give all the money in your bank account." There are many things you can give, perhaps the hardest is time and attention. It's easier to throw change and walk on.

But it does seem to require generosity. Think of the soldier, who is allowed to compel me to go 1 mile. I am required to go 2 miles.

The other example, with the cloak and the tunic/shirt, is more outrageous. The cloak, the himation, functioned as a coat, a blanket, sometimes a shelter for the poor, and you could not legally take it away from someone, at least not overnight.

“If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it before the sun goes down.”
— Exodus 22:26

So this verse imagines them doing something outrageous, taking away your shirt/tunic, the garment closest to your skin instead. And if they do, it says to give them your cloak as well. That sounds more like cleaning out your bank account.

I definitely wrestle with this. I usually try to give a little generously, but a lot depends on the situation.

[R7ehr]

The passage does not say "give all the money in your bank account." There are many things you can give, perhaps the hardest is time and attention. It's easier to throw change and walk on.

But it does seem to require generosity. Think of the soldier, who is allowed to compel me to go 1 mile. I am required to go 2 miles.

The other example, with the cloak and the tunic/shirt, is more outrageous. The cloak, the himation, functioned as a coat, a blanket, sometimes a shelter for the poor, and you could not legally take it away from someone, at least not overnight.

“If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it before the sun goes down.”
— Exodus 22:26

So this verse imagines them doing something outrageous, taking away your shirt/tunic, the garment closest to your skin instead. And if they do, it says to give them your cloak as well. That sounds more like cleaning out your bank account.

I definitely wrestle with this. I usually try to give a little generously, but a lot depends on the situation.

The cloak verses aren't, strictly speaking, about volunteering initially. They suggest that if you are compelled (lose a lawsuit?) to give one, only then do you give the other. I am not saying that this should or should not materially affect our decision making when someone asks or demands something of us. But it is there in the verses.

Maybe Paul followed this instruction, and it resulted in Carpus repenting in Troas. Because it sounds like Paul was getting his cloak back.

[JimFoxvog]

The other example, with the cloak and the tunic/shirt, is more outrageous. The cloak, the himation, functioned as a coat, a blanket, sometimes a shelter for the poor, and you could not legally take it away from someone, at least not overnight.

This is particularly outrageous in our culture. This means all one's clothing, choosing to go naked. That may have been a bit acceptable then, considering how physical laborers and slaves were commonly unclothed, but could give the wrong message today.

I think it's OK not to obey this one literally.

[JohnL]

No beggar I have ever interacted with has earnestly asked me for all the money in my bank account.
"There were seven brothers..."

I’m with this. If someone starts asking me for all my money or huge tithes then I start thinking they’re doing a pyramid scheme or a cult or insert a “dishonest scam of choice.”

[Bootstrap]

I was recently visiting family in Kentucky, and my sister was out of town most of this time. We managed to grab coffee for an hour, and a man came up to our table. I was focused on the conversation with my sister, and said I wasn't going to give him money. He wanted me to go inside and buy him a cookie, and really begged, "I'm hungry". I just shook my head and said, "no". And I regret that.

Normally, I would give him some time and attention, but this was the one hour I had with my sister on this trip. I don't think a cookie is what he needs for his hunger, and the cookies were expensive at this coffee shop.

I wish I had said something more direct, like this. "Sir, I don't often see my sister, and I only have an hour with her now. I really want to spend this time with her." That would have been respectful and clear. And I do think it was legitimate to want to focus on the conversation.

[Outsider]

Should Christians really give to absolutely anyone who asks? If someone were to genuinely ask for all the money in your bank account, should you comply? Should nothing at all be done about stolen property? And if not, why do Anabaptists vehemently defend a strict literal reading of the preceding verses regarding nonresistance but not for this?

2 Corinthians 9:7
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

[JoyE]

Many years ago a young man on the street stopped me and asked me for a contribution to help people to get off drugs. It was only after he handed me literature that I realized I had just contributed to the Moonies. I felt like running after him, yelling, "Gimme me back my money!!" But I learned a little about being too trusting of strangers.