MH page 195

We may give to the poor, and harm them, by teaching them to be dependent. Such giving encourages selfishness and helplessness. Often it leads to idleness, extravagance, and intemperance. No man who can earn his own livelihood has a right to depend on others. The proverb “The world owes me a living” has in it the essence of falsehood, fraud, and robbery. The world owes no man a living who is able to work and gain a living for himself.

Giving that fosters dependence can harm recipients by encouraging idleness and helplessness, as able individuals are responsible for their own livelihood. It offers behavioral and ethical guidance on the unintended negative consequences of enabling dependence.

Real charity helps men to help themselves. If one comes to our door and asks for food, we should not turn him away hungry; his poverty may be the result of misfortune. But true beneficence means more than mere gifts. It means a genuine interest in the welfare of others. We should seek to understand the needs of the poor and distressed, and to give them the help that will benefit them most. To give thought and time and personal effort costs far more than merely to give money. But it is the truest charity.

True charity involves understanding individual needs, offering personal effort, and helping people help themselves. It outlines an ethical approach to philanthropy centered on personal involvement and self-reliance.

Those who are taught to earn what they receive will more readily learn to make the most of it. And in learning to be self-reliant, they are acquiring that which will not only make them self-sustaining, but will enable them to help others. Teach the importance of life's duties to those who are wasting their opportunities. Show them that Bible religion never makes men idlers. Christ always encouraged industry. “Why stand ye here all the day idle?” He said to the indolent. “I must work ... while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.” Matthew 20:6 ; John 9:4 .

Teaching individuals to earn their support fosters self-reliance and the capacity to help others, aligning with religious duties of industry. It asserts a behavioral outcome from teaching self-reliance and supports it with religious teachings and scripture quotes.