How to Do Charity

Many think that by giving the homeless
Aught they need, they will ultimately be successful.
This is not true. The homeless, the abjectly poor,
If given all their desires will do what all men do.
They will spend it on their belly, then their members,
And then growing affluent, they will seek to destroy.
For, men who have gained a fortune without work
Will become bored, and must seek to muse themselves
Like any other man.

Rather, every poor man you see, give him his immediate
Need. Proportionate to that. Do not give him excess,
Do not give him below the means he needs.
Give to him his immediate needs only.
Do not pass him by and say, "I wish to teach this man
"How to take care of himself." Some men cannot.
If you must, bring them into your houses,
And be their servant, but vet the ones you help
And make sure they are not swine.

Give proportionally, to each his immediate need
And no further. For, excess will create waste.
A poor man is uneducated. Therefore, he does not know
How to conduct business. It is not his fault that he does not know this
But, you will not do anything for him that he cannot do for himself.
If the poor man gets wisdom, he will invest his money and time
On an occupation, and will accrue fortune on his own.
If the poor man cannot, he will remain poor
And such a one needs their portions like any other man.
Passing him by on the street, and saying,
"I ought to teach him how to make his fortune,"
Will not feed him, will it?
Yet, giving him everything, so he has no lack,
Will only create waste.

These are the harsh realities of charity.
If you have a day's bread in your pocket
Give the poor man that.
If you have a day's shelter in your pocket,
Give the poor man that.
That is what he needs, and no more.
Any more, and he will in five years time
Find himself in prison, for his lack comes from idleness.
Yet, some men cannot do anything but be idle.
These men, their work is to beg.
Give them their portion, what they need,
And no more. And also, no less.
You will help them by doing this
More than by giving a fortune away
Or by needlessly pondering on how you can teach them to knead dough.

Yet, always feed him with kind words
Proportional to your kind gift.