"They are con artists" "They know what to say to get your money from you" "They'll use that money to buy more booze" Such things are said about homeless people. Unfortunately, many people who we meet begging for money prove these statements to be true. That is, if we even bother to meet them. If we remember that there lies a human being and give some of our time to the poor, we might discover that they are lying.
A homeless married couple in Las Vegas, told Josh and I how they once owned the top three floors of the MGM Grande hotel (a five star hotel). They sighed as they described how they put their money in the power of an attorney who cheated them out of their money, thus landing them on the streets. This story was definitely far-fetched but regardless, Larry and Tawny were living on the streets, panhandling.
Are we fools for giving and ministering to people, who most likely will say anything to pull on our heart strings?
 What about Dwayne, who after losing his job, decided that he didn't want to work anymore at the age of 60 years old? I don't think that I would be helping Dwayne at all by giving him money, neither would I even feel sorry enough for him to give him money. Just like in many relationships, with the homeless we must ask ourselves "are we helping or hurting?" I think to finance Dwayne's lifestyle, making it unnecessary for him to earn money himself, and get a place to stay, would only be hurting him. After all, he must not mind living on the streets, if he is capable of working but chooses not to.
With all this being said, I don't think that we should lift our noses in the air and walk past the Larry and Tawnys and the Dwaynes. These are people who need so much ministry. They deserve to be respected and loved. Their self-worth is shattered. Can't we just stop and talk with them just to let them know that they are important?I think whether they are justified or not in being homeless, that should not effect our level of ministry.
Don't Christians sometimes tell lies? Don't we sing songs about how much we love Jesus and mindlessly agree that we would do anything for Him, yet we turn down opportunities that might put us out of comforts? We hide behind defenses like 'I don't feel convicted'. Some of us can't even feel conviction anymore.
The dishonesty of the homeless easily becomes our cop-out. We feel justified to ignore someone crying out for help. We don't have to give them money. We can give them food or even a smile and conversation. We can offer Jesus and give a Bible to them.
 Many of us suffer the same poverty as the homeless: feeling forgotten and uncared for by the world.