I chose to become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses over 50 years ago and I have never seen any of my brotherhood in need. We have a central fund that we can donate to as our circumstances allow, that will take care of our brothers and sisters in disaster relief and other situations on a global basis, whereas we take care of our own locally. Because we are a family and view each other as related to us in the faith, if someone comes into need or becomes ill, we will rally around those ones and make sure that their needs are met.
We do not operate like other churches who simply try to help the poor and needy in the community. We understand that people can fall on hard times, but we do not do “charity” work….we believe that “God helps those who help themselves” and would rather “teach a man to fish, rather than hand him a fish”…..self sufficiency is a great skill to learn, and we have helped many to get back on their feet so that they in turn can help others to stand up again.
The apostle Paul gave us a principle in 2 Thess 3:7-10…..
”For you yourselves know how you should imitate us, because we did not behave in a disorderly way among you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food free. On the contrary, by labor and toil we were working night and day so as not to impose an expensive burden on any one of you. 9 Not that we do not have authority, but we wanted to offer ourselves as an example for you to imitate. 10 In fact, when we were with you, we used to give you this order: “If anyone does not want to work, neither let him eat.”
This applies to our elders who are the shepherds in our congregations…none are paid for their service, but are self funded like the apostles often were, so as not to be an expensive burden on the congregation. I know many local churches who have to hassle their members for money to support their minister…..he gets a house, a car and all expenses paid……no one should be paid to do the Lord’s work.
Just giving people a solid hope for the future can bolster their spirits.…the good news of the kingdom can get them excited about the future, when from the human standpoint, it looks grim. This is why Jesus sent his disciples out to find the lost ones….(Matt 10:11-14) to give them hope of something better to come.
Studying the Bible with them shows us who the genuine ones really are. Those who want to abuse our hospitality are soon shown that we are not there to be abused and used as an excuse not to take care of their own responsibilities. We love to help anyone who genuinely seeks the truth and wants a relationship with Jehovah and his son.
We had a local church here who used to put on a weekly social get together where there would be a short Bible topic discussed and refreshments served afterwards…..they called it “Hope Fellowship”, but most people came for the free food with no real interest in God or any intention of changing their ways….and it wasnt long before they began to call it “Hopeless Fellowship” because that is not what Christ taught us to do. True Christianity concentrates on finding those who are seeking God for the right reason, not those with ulterior motives. We soon find out who the “rice Christians” are….(for those who know what that means….)
It is very comforting to belong to such a loving brotherhood who will share what they have with their brothers and sisters. This is genuine Christianity where everyone knows each other and if someone is missing from the meetings, we give them a call to see if they are OK. (John 13:34-35)
