Yes, it was 2 Thessalonians 3 that I meant. I don't know much about Matthew Henry, and at times I have slammed the procedure of quoting commentators here in support of a position; their opinions are no authority. But I won't 'slam' here-- at least you didn't do a page or more worth of copy and paste like some do; especially this guy named Ryan.
But I can briefly tell you of my own experience, which may explain why I confront the general concept you have shown. I refused to go to college right after high school, and I went to work in this shop that made wooden boxes and bases and other shipping materials. I just wasn't like the other guys who worked there, and they could easily see it. I didn't come from the rough backgrounds of most of them, an didn't talk or act like it. Somehow it began that those guys would ask for small loans; not just from me, I'm sure, but as I obliged them, the idea caught on, and there came to be 2 or 3 who wanted 5, 10, maybe 20 dollars every week, and sometimes I would even quote scripture to them, telling them Jesus said "Give to those who ask; turn not away from those who want to borrow." I basically ignored anything else and didn't care why they couldn't manage money better; but they paid me back on Fridays, not wanting to lose their lending machine [me], sometimes even with unasked-for 'interest.' But not even I was idealistically blind for all time. I saw them exchanging little cigarettes, even smoking them in the parking lot at times; and other items, such as knives and clips were traded. But what it took to get through to me what I was enabling was this one guy who came along a few months before I left there. He quickly saw what was going on and wanted in on it. I gave him a small loan or 2, and once when he didn't pay back I asked him and he made threats and demanded more money. I refused, he fainted a few blows at me, showed me his Bowie knife and talked about how sharp he keeps it... but after a few days he did pay back-- then asked for $100, and for a period there every day at work was leerings, showing the knife, and demands for money, and I refused his request and his threats [which he never carried out]. That ended it. I concluded then that Jesus didn't command someone to subject himself to idiocacy like that. I started just roaring at any guy who asked for money. When that guy found out I was quitting, he accused me of wanting to get away from black people [I was finally going to college and getting a job more convenient for that better purpose].
So, if you're still saying we take the words of Jesus as a superior guide and enable sloth, dope, and outrageous irresponsibility, you're going to get a different perspective from me [and that's definitely a milder way of saying this than I normally use]. And if it's true in this particular topic, it's likely true in others. Jesus: "Give to those who ask"... Paul: "He who does not work shall not eat". I'll even take Shakespeare's "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" over an uncondtional "Turn not away from those who want to borrow." And the rare times I face somebody on the streets who asks for a few dollars... usually I ignore them, or I make some suggestions to where they can shove a dollar.
Count me out as an idiot for Jesus.
But I can briefly tell you of my own experience, which may explain why I confront the general concept you have shown. I refused to go to college right after high school, and I went to work in this shop that made wooden boxes and bases and other shipping materials. I just wasn't like the other guys who worked there, and they could easily see it. I didn't come from the rough backgrounds of most of them, an didn't talk or act like it. Somehow it began that those guys would ask for small loans; not just from me, I'm sure, but as I obliged them, the idea caught on, and there came to be 2 or 3 who wanted 5, 10, maybe 20 dollars every week, and sometimes I would even quote scripture to them, telling them Jesus said "Give to those who ask; turn not away from those who want to borrow." I basically ignored anything else and didn't care why they couldn't manage money better; but they paid me back on Fridays, not wanting to lose their lending machine [me], sometimes even with unasked-for 'interest.' But not even I was idealistically blind for all time. I saw them exchanging little cigarettes, even smoking them in the parking lot at times; and other items, such as knives and clips were traded. But what it took to get through to me what I was enabling was this one guy who came along a few months before I left there. He quickly saw what was going on and wanted in on it. I gave him a small loan or 2, and once when he didn't pay back I asked him and he made threats and demanded more money. I refused, he fainted a few blows at me, showed me his Bowie knife and talked about how sharp he keeps it... but after a few days he did pay back-- then asked for $100, and for a period there every day at work was leerings, showing the knife, and demands for money, and I refused his request and his threats [which he never carried out]. That ended it. I concluded then that Jesus didn't command someone to subject himself to idiocacy like that. I started just roaring at any guy who asked for money. When that guy found out I was quitting, he accused me of wanting to get away from black people [I was finally going to college and getting a job more convenient for that better purpose].
So, if you're still saying we take the words of Jesus as a superior guide and enable sloth, dope, and outrageous irresponsibility, you're going to get a different perspective from me [and that's definitely a milder way of saying this than I normally use]. And if it's true in this particular topic, it's likely true in others. Jesus: "Give to those who ask"... Paul: "He who does not work shall not eat". I'll even take Shakespeare's "Neither a borrower nor a lender be" over an uncondtional "Turn not away from those who want to borrow." And the rare times I face somebody on the streets who asks for a few dollars... usually I ignore them, or I make some suggestions to where they can shove a dollar.
Count me out as an idiot for Jesus.
